


Alpha Boy

by tigersharktimes



Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: Alive Vernon Boyd & Erica Reyes, Alpha Derek, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Blue eyes/Yellow eyes, Confessions, Enigma Lydia, First Kiss, First Time, Helpful Deaton, Hurt Derek, Hurt Stiles, Hurt/Comfort, Love Is Magic, M/M, Magic Stiles, Minor Allison Argent/Isaac Lahey/Scott McCall, Mutual Pining, Oblivious Stiles, Pack Building, Pack Feels, Post-Season/Series 02, Sassy Peter, Song Lyrics, Wolf Derek, a crucial discovery, life and death, magical object
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-12-03
Updated: 2015-11-28
Packaged: 2018-02-24 18:10:33
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Underage
Chapters: 9
Words: 38,376
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2591231
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/tigersharktimes/pseuds/tigersharktimes
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>What's a boy supposed to do with a big scary wolf?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Signs and Wonders

_I don´t trust you. And you don´t trust me._  
_I´m the one keeping you alive.  
Yeah. Because you need me to survive._

Fuck that summer which had been a waste of time. Three months of boredom. He had missed the action, the suspense, the mystery, and even... No. Stiles chewed his lip. He wouldn´t go there. Not a chance. Well, what should have been a great summer with Scott and Allison broken up, and him spending most of the time with his buddy had turned out to be a big, fat flop. Not even his Lacrosse skills had improved despite all of the practicing he had done. He sucked. Yeah. The summer sucked. Life was a bore because something was missing. An adventure. A challenge. A spark. Something. He considered that he was just unhappy because Lydia was still in love with Jackson, even if the jerk had left town. Yeah, he was kind of depressed about that. Sure. That´s it. A girl broke -

Three youngsters appeared out of nowhere, blocking his way on the streets. The leader was a beautiful dark-skinned, black-haired female, flanked by two younger males. "What´s up, boy?"

 _Seriously?_ Stiles thought, exasperated. He didn´t know them. She was at least four years older than him. "Hey, I´m not looking for any trouble, okay?"

The girl grinned, baring a row of impressive teeth. "Says who?"

Stiles looked around. The street was deserted. Maybe he should run. Maybe he should talk more. Maybe he should stand his ground. "Alpha boy." He gave them his best glare. "I do magic." Yeah. Bad joke. Man, was he in a shitty mood.

The trio roared with laughter. The girl ran her long nails down his arm. "You´re funny, _human_."

The next second a car rushed to the curb. The boys jumped. The girl didn´t.

Derek´s Camaro. Stiles gaped at the owner inside as if he was changing into a wolf right in front of them. Of course, he didn´t. He just pushed the door at the passenger´s side open. "Get in."

"Uh...thank you." Stiles shook his head. "I can take care of myself."

"Stiles. Get in the car," Derek snarled for whatever reason. "Now." _Before I rip your head off._

"Okay. Fine." Stiles waved at the three strangers, then jumped into the seat beside Derek.

The werewolf drove off with squealing tires.

 _Show off!_ "What are you doing here?" In a hurry Stiles put the seatbelt on.

"I live here as you know," Derek grumbled.

"I haven´t seen you all summer," Stiles spluttered without thinking because his senses were in a flurry.

"Yeah." Derek shrugged. "Not the socializing type. What was that about?"

"Nothing. Just some stupid troublemakers. I´ve never seen them before."

"Why did they pick on you?"

"How should I know?"

Derek growled.

A pleasant shiver ran down Stiles´s spine. "Got it. They´re werewolves."

"Yeah. So stay away from them."

"I didn´t do anything." Sure he remembered his silly joke but the pack couldn´t have thought he meant what he said, right? "So how was your summer?"

"Good."

 _Duh!_ Stiles didn´t want Derek to get away with the familiar cant. "What did you do?"

"Stuff." Derek hit the brakes. They had arrived at Stiles´s home. Derek must have broken the speed limit. He leaned over and grappled Stiles´s shoulder. "Stay away. Okay?"

"Why so serious?" he quipped to lighten up the mood. Not that a bookworm like Derek would get a Joker reference.

"Stiles."

"Sure!" He squirmed out of the car, dislodging Derek´s hand from his shoulder. "Bye."

Feeling a nagging disappointment he watched the car and Derek vanish into the night. "Nice talking to you, sourwolf." For a few seconds he kept staring at the fading red tail lights. "I missed you." The moment the words slipped over his lips he wished he could take them back. Not that anyone had heard his confession but he was stunned that he had said such a ridiculous thing out loud. A stupid, crazy, utterly lunatic sentiment. It was obvious that Derek hadn´t missed him. Not one bit. So what? He knew Derek hated him. He didn´t trust him. He didn´t even like him. Not even after the hours in the pool had he changed his behavior towards him. He was no friend. He was the fucking Alpha.

Stiles stomped up to his room. He had been so sure about what was going on with him but now he figured he´d got it all wrong. Just a short time spent close to Derek had been more exciting than the whole summer. Derek looked at him and he felt like he was being stripped naked. Derek said a few words and he turned into sparkling water bubbling over. Derek touched him and he was thinking dirty jerking off scenarios. Derek this. Derek that. Derek. Derek. Derek. Crap! Crap! CRAP!

His phone rang. Good. He needed a distraction.

"Hey, are you up for a surprise?" Scott blurted without any intro.

"Sure." He was up for anything. Anything but Derek!

"Derek wants to meet us at his house."

"What?" Stiles breathed into the phone. "What the hell...?"

"Wicked, huh?"

"Why are you telling me? I´m no werewolf."

"Derek asked for you particularly."

"Oh." Stiles flushed. Thank God that he and Scott didn´t skype.

"So will you come?"

"If the big, bad wolf said so." _Ah. Crap. Don´t say shit like that._

"Okay." Scott sounded like he bit back a laugh. "After school tomorrow. At the Hale house."

"Okay. Nighty night, bro." He hung up and dropped on the bed, staring at the ceiling. That was kind of weird, right? First he bumped into Derek and they barely talked and yet he called a meeting, asking for him _particularly_. Why? He was human. He was not part of any pack. He was useless in a fight. Derek had never liked being around him. So? What the fuck was going on? What the fuck did Derek want?

The night went by in a hazy blur of messy dreams, not even his favorite pillow did the trick to help him find the rest he needed. School wasn´t any better; it meant hours of sitting still, plus enduring Mr. Harris. He couldn´t wait to get out and drive to the Hale house already.

Scott made things even worse by bringing Allison along, and Allison brought, yeah right, Lydia. Stiles had not talked to her since the night Jackson evolved from the Kanima into a werewolf. He was angry with Scott because he didn´t tell him. He was nervous, too, because of Lydia, of course, not Derek. God forbid! No.

He was pretty surprised that Allison came at all, even if her hatred towards Derek had fizzled out since Scott had told her the truth about the night Derek scratched her mom, and why she had committed suicide.

Peter, the one he loathed and distrusted the most, opened the door.

"You," Lydia spat in shock.

"Me," Peter replied, sounding equally aghast.

"You," Lydia echoed.

"Me," Peter emphasized, before he turned around. "Derek, your visitors have arrived."

They walked past Peter. Lydia shuddered. Peter´s eyes flashed blue and he smiled. That creep! Stiles clenched his fists.

Derek awaited them standing tall and with his arms crossed, a strapping guy dominating the room.

Stiles gulped. His fists unclenched as if by magic. _Dude! Come on! How can you look so....desirable?_

Isaac was behind Derek, lurking in the shadows. The young werewolf looked kind of pissed at Stiles, or was his dislike directed at Allison, standing closer to him than to Scott? Well, since they had broken up this must be kind of awkward for her as well.

Derek didn´t look happy that Scott brought the girls along. Neither were exactly his friends. One shot him and his pack, the other brought back to life the uncle he had killed. So, yeah, not exactly warm feelings here. He didn´t comment on their presence, though. "We found Boyd and Erica," Derek broke the news to them instead, skipping any welcoming speech.

"Great!" Stiles blurted to smooth over his inner turmoil. He felt like he was running in circles.

Derek glared at him. "Not so much, because they are in the hands of another pack. Their Alpha wants to make a trade."

"For what? Useless humans?" Stiles flung at Derek. He was desperate to overcome his awkwardness, and what was the best way to do that? Annoying the big, bad wolf, of course. Yeah, right!

"No."

Oh! That glare! He should shrivel to a lump and die. Instead he was the most turned on ever.

"We need a plan," Scott figured.

"That´s why I called you here," Derek declared, gazing at Stiles.

Stiles was fidgeting like a fool feeling those flaming looks. He felt the need to jump up and down like he was having a fit, worse he felt the need to fling himself at Derek, clinging. Whoa! Stop! He couldn´t think of a clever thing to say to kill the tension. He certainly didn´t say _I missed you_ , which would have come close to having a death wish. Yes, he had missed Derek. Yes, he was happy to see him again. No. He could never tell Derek that. Ha! That joke was on him. Period. His eyes strayed around the room. Derek had made a few improvements. The floor was swept clean and most of the bulky junk had disappeared. Stiles also noticed the heater and the sofa in the back. Did Derek plan to stay here for good? Did he want to live in his burnt down home? Did he want-

"Stiles?" Derek touched his arm.

"What?" Crap! Why was he so jumpy?

"I need you to do some research."

Right! "Sure, Derek." Hey! Why not? Some research for the Alpha could turn out to be fun, maybe even more, he considered, feeling the imprint of Derek´s grip burn on his skin.

"Fine." Derek looked kind of disappointed at his quick agreement. Had he hoped for a little more action? Had he hoped for more resistance? Had he hoped Stiles would refuse the offer? "The Alpha´s name is Kali Mace. I want you to find out anything you can about her family and her country of origin."

"Anything we can do?" Lydia said, sounding pretty indifferent. She had moved closer to Allison, peering at Peter from the corner of her eye.

"Yes. In the next couple of days we have to prepare for the pack´s arrival here. We have to share. We have to smell like each other. We have to bond."

"Dude! Ugh!" Stiles complained. "Is that really necessary?"

"If we want to save Boyd and Erica, yes."

"You want us to cuddle?" Stiles mocked him.

"No, you idiot."

"What then?"

"Sharing space. Getting to know each other. So we can at least succeed in pretending that we´re pack."

"We´re happy to do all that if we can save Boyd and Erica," Scott interrupted their spat. "Right, guys?"

"I´m certain Stiles would be happier if he could do a lot more," Peter implied with glee.

"Shut up," Derek growled.

 _I hate Peter,_ Stiles realized not for the first time. He dared to look at Derek and was rewarded with a smoldering glare. _Not Derek, though._ "Okay, but only to save Boyd and Erica."

"Yes, only for them," Allison said. Lydia just nodded.

"That´s fine," Derek said, and he slumped as if a burden had just rolled off his shoulders.

They agreed to make up a story to settle things with their families so they could come back tomorrow and stay overnight. They were done for today. The small group unraveled. Derek and Stiles were the first through the door almost bumping into each other. Derek´s jaw clenched. His eyes flashed red. _Great!_ Stiles grimaced. His walk turned into a sprint.

The werewolf trio gathered on the porch watching them leave. Stiles forced himself not to turn around to throw one last look at Derek, though he noticed that both of the girls did turn around. Hey! How about that?

They didn´t talk to each other on the drive back. They acted like they were strangers, not friends who´d gone through a lot together. Scott eyed Allison and Lydia whenever they whispered in secret in the backseat. Stiles focused on driving not saying anything.

Lydia had _that creep_ written all over her face. Allison tried not to look at Scott at all.

Stiles wanted to say something to Lydia. _I´m sorry that Peter hit on you. Be careful. How are you?_ Whatever he wanted to say he didn´t. The moment passed and the girls got out of the car.

"So, what do you think?" Scott said at once.

Stiles shrugged. "I don´t know. I´m curious. I can give you that."

"Yeah? What was that back there?"

"You know Peter. He´s..."

"I´m talking about you and Derek."

"Well, I´m annoyed that he dragged us into this. Aren´t you?"

"Sure, but we´ll do this for Boyd and Erica, right?"

"Right." Yeah, he was lucky that Scott´s werewolf lie detector obviously wasn´t working because he was distracted by his reunion with Allison. Scott was always so easy to fox.

He headed home to his computer and started researching. Yes, he wanted to save Erica and Boyd, but he knew that the inspiring spark pushing him on really sprang from Derek. He was doing it for Derek. He wanted to impress the Alpha. He wished he could do magic to bedazzle him. He groaned. Oh, man. He was nuts.

Hours later he shut the notebook down. He had found bits about Kali´s past he was sure Derek wouldn´t like. A past he didn´t know Derek was able to stand up to with just a fake pack behind him. Yes, he had the Alpha´s number. Yes, he could call him right away, but he didn´t have the nerve. Not today. Again he wished he could do magic. Yeah, sure. Fat chance that will ever happen. Exhausted he went to bed, not thinking about Derek. Neither was he dreaming about wolves, nor the woods and the moon...

 _...or doing magic._


	2. Pack Matters

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the delay, but my darling Beta was really busy, and I had an eye surgery recently. The next parts will be posted a bit faster.

  
"Stiles! Stay focused!" Derek barked, pushing him down.

Stiles landed on his ass, glaring at the Alpha. Why did Derek single him out? None of the others mentioned the fact that the only one who was allowed to take on Stiles in training was Derek. Naturally he did badly against the Alpha. Yeah, well, he was kind of distracted by Derek looking gorgeous. He liked the well-groomed beard Derek had grown over the summer, and the black, tight shirt which underlined Derek´s muscles. So, even though he had built up a few more muscles of his own, Stiles had no chance of winning a fight against the wolf. Nah. Not a chance. Still he enjoyed being pawed and wrestled and pushed around. Yeah, he just regretted he hadn´t brought his baseball bat to defend himself. So what? Wouldn´t have mattered anyway.

He scrambled to his knees. His pants were ripped. His shirt was dirty. One of his favorite shirts. The one with the target. Yeah. That one. Did Derek even remember their first meeting in the woods? Probably not. He´d only had eyes for Scott, who was already a werewolf. That´s why Scott belonged to Derek and Stiles was only tolerated.

Two nights ago they had settled in at the Hale house. Stiles told them what he had found out about Kali´s past. "Only a few things so far. Kali comes from Mexico. Her father was the leader of an infamous and powerful pack until she killed him. Turned into an Alpha she and a few Betas fled the territory. That happened two years ago."

"Then she´s merciless," Derek said. "We have to prepare thoroughly. Tomorrow we´ll start. Get some rest."

They scattered in the rooms on the upper floor. Lydia and Allison in Cora´s room. Peter in his own room. Derek and Isaac in Derek´s room. He and Scott in a room Derek didn´t say who it once belonged to. The shower consisted of a few buckets of water poured over your head at the back of the house. No, thank you. Stiles skipped the self-display, and just brushed his teeth over the washbowl. He crawled into his sleeping bag and hugged his favorite pillow. He remembered the peculiar look that Derek had given him at the sight of his bedding. Yeah, so? I´m pathetic. I need a fluffy, little friend to feel safe. No need to rub it in. Just leave me alone.

The training sessions over the next two days were intense and sweaty, particularly with all the touching going on. The werewolves even scented each other. That was kind of gross, really. He didn´t want that. No. Seriously? Who would want that?

He noticed that he had scraped his elbow on a stone. He was bleeding. Oh, come on. What else to make this worse? What else to make him look like a wuss? I could howl. No. Rather not. Derek didn´t look amused. Yeah, well, sorry, Alpha man. Simply human. "Okay. I´m not finished yet." He shook a fist at Derek. "I´m just getting started."

"No." Derek pulled him up, smoothing Stiles´s hair in the process. "You take a break."

Stiles shuddered. Wasn´t it a benefit that he had grown out his hair? Wasn´t it nice to feel Derek´s touch, though it was just a pet for a little kid? Wasn´t it sad Derek didn´t take him seriously?

"Scott. Isaac. Your turn," Derek ordered roughly.

The two werewolves got in position. They were shirtless and their chests were heaving up and down, lines of muscles rising and falling. Allison watched them for a few seconds before she continued shooting arrows into a target painted on a tree. She missed the middle by an inch, and cast her eyes down, blushing.

Oh. Good, I´m not the only one making a fool out of myself, Stiles mused, plucking at his elbow.

"Here. Take this." Lydia handed him a tissue.

"Thanks." He ignored Peter´s mocking grin. "I think I should clean this." He walked into the house and entered the room with the temporary kitchen. He fetched the faucet piped with a hose from outside. The water trickled pleasantly cold onto his wound.

"Is it that bad?" Derek said, standing in the doorway.

"No. Just a scratch."

"Let me have a look."

"That´s not-"

Derek seized Stiles´s arm anyway, inspecting the wound.

Stiles´s knees turned to jelly. Oh, Crap.

Derek pursed his lips and blew on the injury.

Oh my god. Stiles gulped. What now? What comes next?

"Derek!" Scott´s outcry. That would happen. Not what he desired.

Derek dropped Stiles´s arm and rushed outside. Stiles stayed behind for a few seconds, catching his breath. He turned the trickle of water off. The injury burnt worse than before. Why was Derek always wearing black? Not that the color didn´t suit him but it was kind of depressing. Well, the whole affair with Derek was a downer, right? He grimaced and staggered after Derek.

The pack was here. They were six. The Alpha. Kali. Five males. Three of them were around Derek´s age. Their demeanor made clear that they not only came for Boyd and Erica but to carve out territories.

We are seven, Stiles decided. Well, sort of.

Kali appeared even more fierce and dangerous than on that night coming at him on the streets. The boy at her right had pitch black eyes and hair as bright as the sun. Stiles recognized him as one of the boys who was with Kali when she was harassing him. He was the one laughing the loudest about Kali teasing him. _Fucking moron!_

Kali was barefoot, and she was showing off long, delicate claws which were painted blood-red. A simple but shiny bracelet graced her left ankle. "How´s the Alpha´s magic boy today?" she inquired instead of a greeting.

 _Oh Crap!_ Stiles winced. _That´s not good. That´s-_

"Who?" Derek said, slightly unhinged.

"That human who is allowed to stand next to you."

"He´s not the only human here," Derek replied, unblinking.

"His scent is all over you," Kali needled Derek with a toothy smirk. Her pack roared.

Derek crossed his arms. "So? He´s part of this pack."

"That´s why you´re creeping around his house and school then?" Kali continued, unwavering.

 _What?_ Stiles couldn´t believe what he had just heard. Derek was _stalking_ him. Really?

"Is he an Emissary?" the moron interrupted cheekily.

"Certainly not his," Stiles snarked back. He heard a snort from his left, but couldn´t make out which of his friends had made the sound.

"Is he fun to play with?" the boy provoked Derek further, dissatisfied with the answer. "The _human_ bitch." He then leered at Stiles, checking him out from top to bottom.

Derek put a hand on Stiles´s arm, casually picking at the skin with the tips of his claws.

In an unexpected move Kali hauled _her_ claws through the boy´s face, leaving four deep cuts behind. The Beta barely flinched, only his eyes flashed a flaming gold, and then he dropped his head submissively, while blood was running down his face and neck.

The wolves on both sides growled but none of them commented on the cruelty.

Stiles was frozen for different reasons. _What is he doing? And why is he doing it?_ The touch of Derek´s claws scraping along his arm as light as a breath of moonlight shining in the darkest woods couldn´t be called a threat, no, rather an endearment, but that didn´t make him feel less awed. _And why do I care so fucking much?_

"Didn´t you come here to talk about more important matters?" Derek said, not stopping his caress.

"So eager, Alpha Hale?" Kali countered. "Your Betas' trust in you is not so confident."

"Yet they belong to me," Derek said. The grip around Stiles´s arm tightened just one tiny bit.

"We´ll see what belongs to you, Hale," Kali sneered. "Accept my request. We either rule this land here together or we´ll kill both of your puppies." Her eyes flickered to Stiles. "Maybe even a few more."

"Do not dare to threaten those who are mine," Derek snarled, still caressing Stiles´s arm.

Stiles noted Derek and Kali bargaining only vaguely because he was focused on the crimson drops falling from the boy´s mutilated face. No matter what Kali had done to him the young werewolf gazed at her as if she was a Goddess. He even licked his lips like he wanted her. _Holy G-_ Stiles tore his eyes off of him. His stomach did a flip flop.

"I give you one day to think about my offer," Kali concluded. She turned around.

"There is nothing to think about," Derek said. He signed Scott, Allison, and Isaac to escort the hostile pack off the grounds.

Peter lingered around, a smug grin on his face. "Did you see the boy´s eyes? Can you believe it?"

"Go and make sure they leave our land," Derek ordered.

Peter sneaked across the porch brushing against Lydia standing close. She lifted her hand as if she wanted to hit him. He chuckled, and jumped down to the ground.

Stiles shook off Derek´s hand. "Oh my God. What was that?" he whispered, listening to his frantic heartbeat.

"What was what?" Derek didn´t wait for his reply but went into the house.

 _Jerk!_ Stiles glanced briefly at Lydia gripping the porch railing, then he chased after Derek. "That creepy thing you did to my arm."

"Not a clue what you mean," Derek huffed.

"You do, you creep. I-"

"Don´t call me that." Derek shoved him against the wall.

"Uff...holy god...you kind of like that, huh? Smashing me into something?"

"Maybe."

"Is it an Alpha or a pack thing?"

"Neither. It´s a you thing." Derek´s eyes turned as green as a spring forest. He wrinkled his nose. "What did you tell Kali? Why did she call you by that name?"

"I told her nothing, okay? I was only making a joke."

"A joke?"

"Yeah. Something you never do?"

"You think this is funny?"

"No. Now let go of me, sourwolf."

"You´re insufferable. I don´t know why..."

"Hey, Stiles?" Scott called from outside. "Are you coming or not?"

 _Not!_ "Why w-" Derek closed in and feathered a lingering breath over Stiles´s neck, a tip of tongue, an edge of teeth.... Stiles started shaking, literally shaking...

"STILES!" Scott called again. "If you´re not out in five seconds I´m coming to get you."

Derek pushed off of him and walked away. Stiles stayed put for an eternity it appeared, at a loss for words, trying to figure out what had just happened. He touched his neck. Had Derek bitten him? Was he marked? "Coming." He stumbled out the door, almost falling over the small step. "Shit." His heartbeat was still racing like he was prey having made a narrow escape from the beast. And he kind of did, didn´t he?

"What´s up with you? Why are you glowing?" Scott said, using a towel to dry his chest and arms. A few scratches graced his lower torso. Isaac must have pinched him a bit.

 _Shut up, Scott._ "I am not. I just need some air. This house is a nightmare of dust, gumming up my air pipes. No wonder I´m almost having a panic attack."

"Sorry. I didn´t know you were having such a hard time." He looked at Stiles´s arm. "What were you doing in there anyway? All alone with Derek?"

 _Were there any marks? Were there? And even if there are, don´t you dare to say something about it._ He noticed Isaac and Allison standing by the treeline, chatting. Isaac was still shirtless. His back was disfigured by long, deep scratches. Okay. Obviously the fight had ended even. Stiles pointed at the unusual couple. "Since when did they become so cozy?"

"I don´t know." Scott shrugged. "She was in France the whole summer, so I can´t even..."

 _Oops!_ Scott was a whole lot of jealous, Stiles realized. "Where´s Lydia?"

"Hiding in her car, waiting for Allison to stop...." Scott sighed. "...waiting for Allison."

"That creep Peter just doesn´t leave her alone. Wasn´t it bad enough he forced her to help bring him back from the dead? Now he even stalks her. I´ll go talk to her."

"Yeah. I´ll ask Derek what time he wants us to come back tomorrow."

"Okay." He tried to ignore all the sensations flushing his body due to just hearing Derek´s name. _God!_ He passed Isaac and Allison who weren´t done talking.

"For what´s it´s worth I´m sorry," Allison just said.

"Was that an apology?" Isaac replied, unusually soft.

"Would you accept an apology?" Allison said, surprised.

"Uh..." Isaac cleared his throat.

Oh, yeah. They appeared pretty cozy. Scott wouldn´t like to know. Stiles rushed on. He found Lydia sitting in the car, dabbing at her eyes with a tissue.

"Hey!"

She startled. "Jesus Christ! Stiles! Don´t sneak up on me like that."

"Sorry. You know, you shouldn´t let Peter get to you like that."

"I don´t." She sniffed. "I just miss Jackson so much."

Oh. Of course. How stupid of him not to think about that. "I´m sorry." Okay. Good friend that he was he sat down next to her listening to her talking about Jackson. Yeah. At least she forgot about Peter and it took his mind off Derek, if only for a short time.

Scott came to put him out of his misery not long after. He carried their sleeping bags and stuff. "Derek said we should come back right after school, and sleep at home for a few nights. No need to make our parents suspicious."

Isaac scowled at him and disappeared into the house. Scott made a face at Stiles. _What?_ Allison switched places with Stiles. "Oh, Lyds. Maybe you shouldn´t come back here with us tomorrow."

"Are you mad? Anything is better than sitting home alone thinking about Jackson."

"But Peter-" Stiles objected, weirdly disappointed that he wasn´t sleeping here the coming nights. He´d wanted to confront Derek about what had happened. He checked if his pillow was among the pile. Yeah, there. All fine.

"Makes me furious. Which is better than feeling devastated." Lydia flipped her beautiful red hair back. "Let´s go." She started the car.

"Should we ask Deaton for help?" Scott suggested, putting a shirt on at last.

"Maybe." Allison´s cheeks were rosy, her lips full and red. She looked particularly beautiful tonight. Was that Isaac´s effect on her or rather Scott´s recently covered up nakedness?

"Are you sure?" Stiles said. "Derek is on none too friendly terms with the guy since the incident with Peter." He was looking back at the house looming there like a bad sign. He could swear he could see two red circles flashing in the twilight. "I don´t trust him either. He´s too mysterious."

"Yeah, but Deaton knows a lot of stuff. We should bring in whoever is able to deal with the supernatural."

"Right." He didn´t tell Scott he had thought about Deaton himself. Neither did he tell him that Deaton had called him more than once over the summer and asked him to improve his skills with mountain ash. He had always said no to the man. "I´m still saying Derek wouldn´t like his interference."

"Okay. I´ll ask Derek before I do it. Satisfied?"

"Not my decision to make, bro." Stiles stared into the growing darkness. "You´re closer to the Alpha."

"Sure! That´s why you smell like Derek." Scott punched him.

"Dude!"

One by one Lydia dropped them off at their houses. Stiles didn´t go in but took the Jeep to drive to Deaton. He didn´t tell Scott. Wasn´t he the worst friend ever? Wasn´t he the biggest hypocrite? Maybe. Yet he felt the need to do this alone.

At first the animal clinic appeared abandoned, but then he heard voices. Deaton wasn´t alone. He had company. "I can only say it would be a lot better if you bring her here." A low murmur in return. "Fine. Are you sure I shouldn´t take a look at _that_?" The murmur turned more urgent. "I see."

"Dr. Deaton? Are you in there?" Stiles called out. Hasty footsteps. A door banged shut. The next second Deaton walked into the reception room.

"Mr. Stilinski. What gives me the honor?" The vet appeared as calm as ever. Not a sign of excitement disturbed his unreadable expression.

Was the man even real or rather an artificial creature from the future? Or probably from a galaxy far, far away? _Help me, Obi-Wan Kenobi. You´re my only hope._ No. Stiles bit his lip to keep himself from laughing. "I want to learn more about mountain ash."

"I thought you didn´t believe." Deaton didn´t look in the slightest surprised, though.

"I had a lot of time over the summer to think."

"You were bored," Deaton realized.

 _That clever bastard._ "No. Yes. Maybe." He shrugged. "Since Gerard...you know...uh...I need to protect myself better..."

"I see." Deaton nodded. "Well, come with me then. I´ll give you a handful to practice."

The room was clean and empty. Yet Stiles noticed the bottle of pills Deaton snatched from the table to put it back on the upper shelf. Who had Deaton been talking to? Who disappeared in a hurry? What was the man hiding? Could he really trust him?

The practice started rather ineffectively and turned the opposite of good. He couldn´t do the smallest circle. Soon he felt like the biggest loser.

"Think of the things that count," Deaton advised. "The sun. The pack. The moon. Scott. Derek-"

The ash burnt the skin of his palm. Stiles startled and threw his hand upwards. The ash came down and made a ridiculously tiny circle on the table. Nothing you could call a circle. But still.

"Ah. There is the spark," Deaton stated wryly. "And the truth."

 _Holy crap! That man scares me._ Stiles stared at his undamaged hand. No burns, though his arm was sore from the exercise. _I hope he´s not the enemy. I hope I´m doing the right thing. I hope for... something._


	3. Marked

  
"So?" Scott nudged Stiles´s shoulder.

"Yeah?"

"You kissed a girl."

"I did, didn´t I?" He grimaced. The truth was Heather had kissed him. She had jumped him out of the blue.

"How was it?"

"Good." No, not really. He had expected his first kiss to be different. He hadn´t expected to be disappointed. He had expected more...

"Not great?"

... heat, passion, desire. "Sure. Yes. Great." He nodded, faking happiness. Reality was a bitch.

"You don´t look happy, though..."

"How can I be happy with all the crap going on with...the pack...and D-" He swallowed hard. _Shut up!_

Scott´s eyes narrowed. "What?"

Stiles waved him off. "Not important." No. Not important that he was hot for Mr. Big Bad _I am not talking to you_ Wolf. Not important that when he jerked off he was always thinking about Derek instead of a girl. Not important that his life sucked big time. Not important he would prefer to get sucked himself instead. _Oh God. Stop this. Fucking stop._ He felt extremely sulky today. Well, he had slept badly. "I´m not into Heather, okay? I turned her down." Once again his favorite pillow hadn´t done the trick.

"Okay. Got it." Scott patted his shoulder. "We have bigger problems on our hands anyway. The most feared of them all is waiting to ride our asses. Coach Finstock." They both laughed about Scott´s silly joke.

Lacrosse training started with a shock. The coach introduced a new boy joining the team. His name was Elias. Kali´s second. The moron.

Elias winked at them like they were old friends. His eyes flashed briefly in brilliant gold. The injury on his cheek was still roughly jagged. Elias seized the Lacrosse stick like he´d never done anything other than play the game.

"He looks very young," Scott said in a low voice. "Not even sixteen. And the way Kali treats him-"

"So? He´s bad news." How bad Stiles could watch in the next hour. Elias owned the field. He scored like a winner, and kept the goal clean like he was born for that also. A real talent.

"I don´t even see him using his werewolf powers," Stiles foamed, exhausted from his own failures.

"That´s because he isn´t," Scott said, out of breath himself. He had lost a lot of points in the last hour and only scored once. "He´s that good just being human."

_Duh!_ "Insufferable asshole," Stiles gritted through his teeth.

Elias turned his head in their direction. He smirked.

"I think he heard you," Scott said.

"So?" Stiles pounded his stick into the ground. "I don´t care."

"We should tell Derek."

"Okay." Stiles didn´t want to think about his next confrontation with Derek. Not now heading to the showers. Ah. Don´t. Don´t even... He fell back on purpose, fumbling with his shoelaces, until the coach spotted him.

"Stilinski! Move your ass! Before I let you run a few extra laps."

He jerked up and staggered to the dressing rooms. He appeared in the shower just in time to see Scott leave. Good. He wanted to be alone. He turned the water cold and showered quickly. In the locker room he dried himself roughly. He just had slipped into his boxers when he heard a female voice. What the fuck? He peeked around the corner.

Kali. Sneaking up to Elias.

Stiles held his breath. He expected more violence, more punishment, but what he witnessed was a different kind of disturbing. Kali seized Elias from behind and pulled him into her. Elias didn´t flinch but showed the same creepy smile as his Alpha. Kali...oh...Stiles gaped... licked the cheek she had torn open yesterday, licked the raw edges with a tenderness that Stiles couldn´t take his eyes away from. Elias growled with pleasure. Stiles´s mouth turned dry. He licked his lips.

"Is she okay?" Kali asked.

"Yeah," the boy murmured. "Samual is with her. The cough is a bit better."

"My golden boy." She snuggled her Beta like an average girl meeting with her lover.

_Wait! What? Seriously. What!_ He moved backwards. He had to get out of here. Right now! He had to-

Kali turned her head. "Jealous? Does Hale not take good enough care of you?"

Shocked by what she implied Stiles said the stupidest thing. "Sure he does. All the time."

"Mm, right," Kali said, smacking her lips.

Stiles fled. He grabbed his clothes and hurried outside, half-naked.

Scott goggled. "What?"

"I thought you´d leave without me," he explained, slipping into his shirt. His hair was still damp.

"I think you can´t wait to tell Derek."

"Shut up." No, he wouldn´t tell Scott about the incident. Now more than ever. What Kali and Elias did to each other had nothing to do with saving Boyd and Erica.

When they arrived at the Hale house Stiles felt hot and messy, no matter he had recently showered. His skin was itching and his dank boxers stuck uncomfortable to his dick. Oh, great. Not that every werewolf couldn´t smell that.

Derek stood on the porch. His eyes flashed briefly, as if he´d scented a threat.

Stiles turned around to look at the woods. Nothing. He squared his shoulders. _Okay. I can do this. I can be calm. I can look at him and stay calm._ Yeah. Good plan. He was totally keyed-up. Not calm at all.

Peter appeared beside Derek. He looked pretty satisfied with himself. Derek looked not in the slightest concerned by his uncle´s presence.

Jesus! Not long ago Derek had slashed his throat and killed him. "How sweet. Already bonding, huh?" Stiles burst out. His sudden and unexpected anger overbalanced his awkwardness.

"Not your concern," Derek snapped back. His nostrils flared, he leaned closer, sniffing at Stiles as if he smelled something nasty.

"Sure. Alpha," Stiles goaded him, passing by.

Derek slapped the back of his head. "Quiet!"

"Ow!" Stiles squealed, a little too loud maybe, rubbing the affected area.

"Kids!" Peter chuckled.

"Fuck you," Stiles murmured, and strolled into the house. Furious he kicked a root growing through the damaged floor. "Ouch!" Stupid! Yeah, he hurt himself more than Derek behaving like this. Crap! He shouldn´t get riled up like this. Yeah, though he always did. Derek was the one person able to annoy the heck out of him. Why that was he would probably never figure out. He scratched his itching thigh. God, he shouldn´t have dried up so hastily. The itch spread further upwards....

Derek marched in. His eyes flickered to Stiles´s hand, scratching. "What are you doing?" He grabbed Stiles´s arm, stopping his actions.

Stiles shoved him. "Piss off!" Well. Not that clever but he´d been on edge for days.

Derek didn´t push back but dragged him along to the back of the room.

Surprise. Stiles hit a wall. He bit his lip. "AH! God damn it, you bully! That hurt." He tasted blood. "Holy Crap! What´s wrong with you?"

"Sorry," Derek murmured, kind of bashful. He closed in and pressed his lips against Stiles´s ear. "I didn´t mean to. You don´t smell like you... I need to..."

"W-what?" His mouth dropped open. "What do you mean?" A drop of blood trickled down his chin, but he didn´t care, because now Derek breathed along his jawline, licking away every speck of blood, making him feel perfectly insecure. "D-Derek?"

" _My_ house, _my_ rules, okay?" Derek said, moving his lips along the edges of Stiles´s mouth, pressing against the bottom lip, nipping tenderly at the open wound. "Stop provoking me."

"I...didn´t...aw...Derek..." Stiles melted against him, feeling the hard muscles underneath the flimsy shirt, _black, of course it was black,_ the strength that could kill him in a split second, and the heat consuming everything within a radius of a mile. Despite his supernatural strength Derek turned out to be a tease of licks and light touches, on the lips, behind the ears, along the jawline. Stiles groaned, desperate for a real kiss "For God´s sake. Derek. What...are...you...?"

"I´m the Alpha."

"Not mi-" Just now the jerk kissed him for real. A lingering and searing conquest of lips and teeth and tongue... _Oh my God!_ He grabbed Derek by the hair and pulled him closer. Fervently he kissed back, submitting...

For an eternity it seemed Derek was sucking at Stiles´s tongue, mm, yeah, oh god, yeah, making him pour out the most ridiculous sounds but then Derek startled backwards, and was gone a second later. That ass! Stiles remained stuck to the wall, breathing harshly. He jumped when Scott walked through the door. "Hey, you forgot your keys."

"Thanks." He stumbled over to Scott and grabbed them with trembling fingers. Shit!

"Did you tell Derek about Elias?"

"No. I forgot." _No shit! I almost forgot my own name._

"What were you talking about then?" Scott sniffed the air. "Is there something going on between you and Derek I should know about?"

"What? NO!" Stiles ears burnt. "Between me and Derek? Are you kidding?"

"I don´t know. Am I?" Scott put him to the test. "You tell me. You certainly smell weird."

"Ugh...Dude...so not right to use your werewolf senses on me." He played with his keys to keep his hands busy. "Stop."

"Good advice you should maybe take yourself."

"I don´t know-"

"You do know."

He rubbed over his face. "Shouldn´t you rather worry about Allison falling for Isaac?"

"Yeah, maybe, though I understand the attraction. Isaac has a quirky sense of humor, is loyal and as tall as a..."

Stiles burst out laughing. "Seriously? Are you jealous of her or him?"

"That´s not what I meant." Scott´s cheeks turned pink. "Let´s order some pizza. I think we´ll be here for some time."

"Perfect. I´m starving." _Oh yes, I am. Not for food, though._

Shortly after, the whole _pack_ was gathered around a crooked thing which you could barely call a table sharing pizza. Stiles tried not to look at Derek at all. He also tried to ignore Peter who was sitting provokingly close to Lydia. The red head didn´t appear fearful, though. She even smiled off and on about the banter between Allison and Isaac. Obviously she didn´t mind that her best friend was falling for another werewolf.

"Did you find anything else useful about the pack, Stiles?" Derek opened the session.

Stiles almost choked on the slice of pizza he just shoved into his mouth. He coughed. "N-not much. Elias and Samual, the two younger ones of the pack were bitten and turned by Kali. Elias only a few days after she had killed her father."

Derek nodded. "So, they´re both most loyal to Kali. Anything else?"

_Yo, man. Elias is definitely loyal._ "Elias is on our Lacrosse team. He´s good." Oops! He didn´t intend to say it like that. He almost sounded jealous.

"He´s just trying to make you feel insecure. It´s best to ignore him. Don´t take him on by yourself," Derek said, looking at Stiles only.

Hey. Scott is in Lacrosse, too. "Kali´s pack turned powerful surprisingly fast. Nobody knows how but I´m willing to find out."

"We don´t have time."

"I know, okay? Sorry, I can´t do magic."

"Not very Alpha, is it?"

"Not my fault Kali´s delusional," Stiles muttered heatedly. _God, why did I make that stupid joke? Why do I always make things worse?_ "I could spy on Elias, find out more."

"No. Not _you_. It´s too dangerous," Derek turned him down.

Stiles just wanted to start a discussion when Peter interfered. "I don´t know. Stiles might be right. Something is unusual about Kali. She is very young, yes, and yet she appears much more mature than she looks. I also think she hides something apart from wanting the power. Elias is peculiar, too. That he has yellow eyes is particularly strange."

"So what? Why´s that even important?" Stiles said.

"I expected blue eyes the way he acts," Peter said.

"Blue eyes, yellow eyes, what does that even mean?" Stiles snapped, fed up with their secrecy.

"That doesn´t concern you," Derek grumbled. He glared at Peter then.

_Of course. I´m only the errand-boy. Just keep me at arm´s length._ He turned to Scott to ask if he knew anything about the color thing, but Scott was busy watching Isaac and Allison.

The newly-made friends just shared the last slice of pizza, and giggled over some private joke. What the hell? Stiles shook his head in disbelief.

"They were enemies," Scott murmured. "Not long ago she stabbed him multiple times."

"Well, he´s a werewolf. She´s a hunter. Where have I heard that story before?"

"Not funny, Stiles," Scott said, and hung his head.

_Oh, come on. Be a man, Scott. Be a werewolf._ "Okay. Maybe you should let her know that you still want her." He paused. "Or him."

"Drop that," Scott muttered, though his cheeks reddened once more.

"I will if you go over there and show Isaac who is the better wolf," Stiles pushed him hard.

"Okay. Okay." Scott scudded over to the couple.

Stiles pumped his fist into the air. _Check!_ Now what? He noticed that Derek had disappeared from the room, as well as Peter and Lydia. Shit. He had to find her. He couldn´t leave her alone with Peter. Who knew what else the creep would do to her. He rushed outside on the porch. The stars were blinking. The moon was three quarters full. The air smelled heavenly fresh and green. A beautiful night for a creep to make a move.

"Lydia´s not here."

Derek! Of course he must bump into Derek of all wolves. "Where is she?"

"Upstairs. Peter´s showing her around."

"Are you fucking kidding me? She doesn´t like the guy."

"Well, there´s a thin line between love and hate, isn´t there?" Derek tilted his head. His eyes were hidden in the shadows.

Stiles gulped. Say something. Say anything. God! Why is he so...

"Don´t you think so?"

"No," he croaked. "I think you either love someone or hate him. No thin line whatsoever."

"Is that right?"

"Yeah." He heard laughter from inside. Allison. At least she was having some kind of fun. "What about your eyes?" he choked out.

"What about them?"

"They once were blue. Peter´s eyes are blue as are Jackson´s. Scott´s are yellow."

"So? Why do you care?"

_Are you kidding?_ "I always cared. You just didn´t notice."

"Didn´t I?" Derek moved forward and crowded him against the porch railing. "Right now I notice you´re bleeding."

"Am I?" Stiles touched his lip, fingers trembling. Once again Derek was in his personal space. Once again he did nothing to hold the wolf at bay. No wonder Derek had no respect or boundaries concerning him.

Derek´s green eyes were on fire. He reached out and thumbed the edge of Stiles´s lip. "I should heal that pouty curve back to perfect, m-m..." He paused, and then... he grinned, teeth suddenly wolfish.

Stiles gawked like a deer trapped by the predator.

Derek drew his thumb back and licked the tip.

_Actually he´s sucking it._ Stiles couldn´t tear his eyes away nor could he move. The sight of Derek caressing his thumb left him petrified.

"...but not yet," Derek finished with a wet _plop_. Casually he moved his hand lower, and tugged Stiles´s hoodie in order. "Don´t go into the woods alone." He jumped off the porch.

Stiles watched him strolling towards the darkness until he was swallowed up, still gawking. What did he say? He couldn´t mean that, right? Derek didn´t mean to heal his lip with a kiss. He just misunderstood.

"Boy, you´re so oblivious," Peter said from behind him.

Stiles was proud that he didn´t even flinch before he turned around to face him. "Yeah? Why´s that?"

Peter smirked. "No way I´m telling you. I´m not that crazy."

"Why are your eyes blue?"

"I took an innocent life," Peter said, not gloating anymore. No, the creep was looking dead serious.

Now he flinched. "What?" _That can´t be. That means that Derek... Derek..._

Lydia teetered on the porch. "Stiles, can you give me a ride home? Allison is kind of busy."

"S-Sure," he stuttered, still aghast by Peter´s blunt confession.

Lydia nodded curtly at Peter. "Thank you for... telling me."

"Anytime," Peter said, with blue eyes cold but soft.

Stiles was glad to get away from those eyes. He was also more than eager to leave Derek´s house before he ran into the Alpha again. He couldn´t face him right now. Not with the knowledge of what Derek had done. Hey. You can´t be sure. Peter could have lied. You can´t believe a word the creep says. Right. Not a fucking word.

"Did you notice the unique bracelet that bitch Kali wears?" Lydia interrupted his struggle.

"Not particularly. Why?"

"I´ve never seen anything like it before. And I thought I´m well versed in jewelry."

True. Lydia was a lot into that kind of stuff. If anyone was an expert among them on that subject it was her, though she was asking him to do what he was best at. "Okay. I´ll look into it. If that´s what you want." He grabbed the wheel tighter. "Is there something else you wanna tell me?"

"No. Why?" Her face closed off and she turned away.

_Okay. Fine._

After having dropped Lydia off he paid Deaton another visit. He had to keep practicing. He needed to get better, so he wasn´t the most useless in this fight.

"All that to help Derek," Deaton said in the middle of the exhausting session. "I´m surprised."

"I´m doing it to save Erica and Boyd," Stiles huffed, sweating through layers of ash sticking to his skin. He coughed. The damn stuff also gummed up his air ways.

"Right." Deaton swished heaps of ash off the table. "That´s why you don´t succeed. You think too much about _them_. Shut them out of your mind. You need to focus on the spark."

"Why don´t you like Derek?"

"Who says I don´t?" The vet turned his back on him, and rummaged through the bottles on the shelf. His shoulders actually tensed one little bit.

_It´s obvious, man._ Stiles wriggled his fingers to loosen them up.

"Derek reminds me too much of his father," Deaton confided to the shelves. "He´s got a lot of issues and a hot temper. He´s difficult to train or to give advice. Talia was way more in control of her emotions."

"Like you," Stiles stated, slightly amused. Yeah. Well. Derek certainly owned all those flaws.

Deaton turned back to him. "Well spotted, though I admit that always being in control is not a lot of fun."

"Derek´s not a total failure, though," Stiles said, and grimaced because he was defending Derek. "Neither was his father, right? Talia wouldn´t have chosen him otherwise."

"He had his virtues," Deaton agreed, unscrewing another jar. "Focus now."

Stiles opened his hand. Deaton tipped the jar over. The ash trickled onto Stiles´s palm. He closed his eyes. No, Derek was not all bad. He had his virtues, too. He was brave. He was strong. He was intense. Derek let him lose control. That was good. Derek wanted to save Boyd and Erica. That was honorable. Derek asked for help. That was admirable. Yes. He wanted to help Derek. Nothing was more important than showing the Alpha that he could count on him. He wanted Derek to succeed. He wanted Derek to trust him. He wanted Derek. _Oh man!_

"See. You can do it."

Stiles opened his eyes, and found Deaton standing in a perfect circle of mountain ash. _Oh._ "...oh my God. It worked. Oh, this is– I did it."

"You focused on what matters. That´s how you did it. That´s how you´ll succeed in the future, always, if you can hold on to that spark."

Stiles felt like he was glowing. "Yeah. Okay. I want to. I really, really do."

For the first time he believed he could actually do magic.


	4. Crossing the Line

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The song verses I used doesn't belong to me but to "Depeche Mode". I just borrowed them because of the fitting lyrics. No infringement intended.

  
In the morning Stiles was feeling spiritless. Well. That was the price for doing magic circles for hours and then searching the net afterwards, though his constant brooding about Peter´s statement regarding the origin of _blue eyes_ was the main reason for finding no rest. He just couldn´t believe that Derek had killed an innocent. No way. Not an innocent. No matter that Derek was bad-ass and often grumpy he was not a cold-blooded killer. Peter must have lied, right? Peter was playing him. But why? Seriously, why should Peter do that? What was the purpose? Stiles was no threat to him or the pack, was he? _Nah._  
  
He rubbed his weary eyes and struggled out of bed. At least his effort in the one matter, namely searching the net, had paid off. Lydia´s suspicion about the bracelet being unique had been right. The thing was ancient Egyptian, a relic that could be the source of Kali´s unexplainable power. That was useful information. The perfect thing to show the Alpha how helpful he was in the plan to save Boyd and Erica. Maybe even essential. He started to print his findings out and rushed to the bathroom. Cleanliness was also essential to keep going. So was breakfast.  
  
"What are you up to lately?" his dad startled him just as he was putting the cleared dishes into the sink.  
  
"Huh? I´m not up to anything." Yeah. Just planning an attack on a dangerous pack. "I´m just hanging with Scott."  
  
"Doing what?"  
  
"Playing Lacrosse. What else?"  
  
"I was driving by the field yesterday. No sign of you or Scott."  
  
Oh shit. He´d deliberately left the Jeep parked outside of school to trick his dad. "Um...yeah...sometimes I help Scott at the animal clinic."  
  
"Uh...uh. Stiles, is there something you wanna tell me?"  
  
He put his hands up, shaking his head. "No, dad." His eyes darted to the door. "I´d love to talk with you but I´m in a hurry."  
  
"Go then. I don´t want you to be late for school." His dad settled in a chair, holding on to his coffee mug. "Maybe we could have dinner together this weekend?" He looked tired and kind of lonely.  
  
"Sure." _God. I´m awful._ Not that this was his first time lying to his dad but for some reason he was feeling surprisingly bad. The lying had become far too common, that´s why. He was lying to the man who loved and nurtured him every day. Every fucking day. _Ah, dad. I´m sorry. I´ll make it up to you._  
  
In front of the classroom he almost ran over Lydia because he didn´t see her. Duh! Lydia nodded shortly at him, she appeared kind of absent herself. Okay. No problem. He could talk to her about the bracelet later. In class Mr. Harris once more picked him out harassing him. No problem either. He simply endured the guy. He got used to him like he got used to many things in life. There were worse things, like thinking that Derek had killed an innocent. Derek Hale. The man he had the hots for could be the same kind of monster as his uncle, though only if Peter had told the truth. _He didn´t, did he? Derek isn´t like that. He isn´t bad, just permanently grumpy, right?_  
  
His brooding didn´t find rest during break either. In the hallway he almost ran into Elias and Samual, though the two Betas didn´t pay any attention to him. The less muscled Samual was teasing Elias about attending choir practice. "I bet you´ll howl like the leader of the pack. I bet you´ll turn while singing _My heart will go on._ "  
  
"Shut up, jerk face." Elias pushed him against the wall. "Somebody could hear you."  
  
"So?" Samual said, shrugging. "They´d never believe a word I say." The grin on his face faded. "Nobody ever did."  
  
Stiles backed up, shaking his head. What a load of crap. Why should a werewolf bully sing? And why were the two morons going to school anyway? Seriously? They didn´t intend to get a job later, did they? They were on the run, hiding from the pack in Mexico. So why did they pretend to have a normal life? What did they suffer through school for? What did Samual say? Nobody had ever believed that he was a werewolf? Why hadn´t he just shown off by wolfing out?  
  
Troubled with many new questions he went back to class and endured two more hours before the bell ended his own suffering. He rushed home and threw the printed papers in his Jeep. He was ready to roll. Kali would be stumped. Yeah. He would show her. He would trim her claws. He would do anything to help Derek beat her. _If Derek is worth all that heartache I´ll find out later. That´s right. I won´t prejudge him. Not again._  
  
Kali and her pack were already there stalking the grounds when his Jeep trundled onto the Hale property. No time left to tell the pack about his findings. Crap! He jumped out of the car and dashed forward.  
  
Elias was just hurling a piece of cloth at Derek´s feet.  
  
Derek and his wolf brothers bared their teeth. Horror-stricken Stiles realized the reason for the excitement. The torn thing had once been a shirt. Now it was ripped and bloodied. Oh Crap! Maybe Erica and Boyd were already dead if one of them had been bleeding that much.  
  
Isaak took a flying leap at Elias but Derek roared him back in line. "Stand down!" Derek didn´t move an inch from his position, only his eyes were blazing fiery red. "I don´t know how this is helpful in any way, Kali."  
  
"Give in to my request or they´ll die on the next full moon," Kali said, standing her ground, too. Elias moved to her side.  
  
"Set them free or we´ll fight till death," Derek countered, coarsely.  
  
Stiles sidled over to his friends and settled right next to Derek. He ignored Peter´s gleeful expression as well as Isaac´s scowl. Allison and Lydia didn´t react to his arrival. Allison held her bow at the ready, expression agitated as if she couldn´t wait for an outburst. Lydia kept in the shadow of Peter, touching his elbow as if she was looking for guidance.  
  
A few withered leaves were dancing in the bright sunlight. _Yup._ Nature didn´t care about earthly idiocy, neither human nor lupine.  
  
"With what pack, may I ask," Kali sneered, clawing her toes into the earth.  
  
Stiles´s attention was drawn to the bracelet around her ankle, shimmering cryptically. _I have to get that off her. I need an idea, something foolproof which doesn´t get me killed right away._ Right. He bit his lip to suppress a hysterical laugh tickling in his throat.  
  
"My pack is way more powerful than you think. Don´t underestimate them because they´re an alliance of wolves and humans," Derek said, greeting Stiles with a belated nod. "Don´t make the same mistake as many before."  
  
"Don´t wait for Alpha boy to do the trick," Kali snorted. "That will only get your Betas killed."  
  
"I´m not the trickster here," Stiles chipped in. "You´re the ones scheming."  
  
"Are we?" Elias fired back. "Does your Alpha know where you´re going every night? Does he know who you kiss? Does he know what you´re up to?"  
  
Derek jerked his head at Stiles, expression raw and open.  
  
_Um...fuck..._ Stiles met the Alpha´s gaze, slightly distressed. "I-"  
  
Elias made use of the distraction and dashed forward, eyes flashing golden. But Peter was alert and jumped in front of his Alpha and Stiles, teeth and claws reeled-out.  
  
Kali hauled Elias backwards. "No. Not yet. We´ll come back tomorrow." Slowly she turned around, implying her superiority and fearlessness. Not until the edge of the woods did she and her pack start sprinting.  
  
The image of Kali and Elias´s shapes merging into one made Stiles furious. "No way that the bastard didn´t kill anyone innocent so far," he hissed at Scott. His best friend was busy picking up the bloody cloth, sniffing at it. Stiles realized that Scott didn´t even know what he was talking about. Scott hadn´t been present at Peter´s revelation. _Oops!_  
  
"His eyes are yellow, so he hasn´t. It´s as simple as that," Derek said, and confirmed what Peter had implied in a voice dripping with regret.  
  
_So, who have you killed? For god´s sake! What have you done, Derek? I don´t know you at all._ "Not too badly done, Alpha. I´m surprised by your diplomatic skills," Stiles mocked Derek to underplay his serious concern. No. That bitch couldn´t let that magic boy business go, could she? And Elias was even worse with his innuendos.  
  
"Watch the area," Derek said to Peter, Isaac and the girls. The four spread out in different directions, though in couples. Better safe than sorry.  
  
Derek seized Stiles by the neck, the tip of his claws pinching into the skin.  
  
"Whoa! I finally get you," Stiles blustered, yet he didn´t pull away. "This is you showing affection."  
  
"What are you up to?" Derek breathed into his face. "What did he mean?"  
  
"Nothing so far, but I could, you know. Kali doesn´t see me as a threat. I could help more than searching the net. I could-"  
  
"No. Not you. Not a human," Derek turned him down. His grumpy face turned even grumpier. "That´s an order."  
  
"Hey! You just said we´re pack," Stiles barked back, noticing Derek´s grey shirt. _What happened to eternal black, Alpha boss? Are you having a fit of madness? Are you pawing for a bit of light?_  
  
"I was talking about Allison. _Not_ you. She has skills."  
  
"Fuck you."  
  
"Is that an offer?" Derek dead-panned, letting go of him.  
  
"In your dreams."  
  
"Are you sure we´re talking about my dreams?"  
  
"What?" Stiles grimaced, rubbing his neck. Why for god´s sake was he turned on by this? "What´s that supposed to mean?" Why was he such a mess of emotions being touched by this asshole? _Derek can never know. Oh, please. I can´t even..._  
  
"Figure it out, stupido."  
  
"Damn you, failwolf. You can´t tell me what to do."  
  
"I can." Derek´s stoic expression faltered one tiny bit. "I am the Alpha."  
  
"You know what? I´m sick of you and your crap." The guy was such a downer. No wonder he got cranky himself. No wonder he was behaving stupid. _No way I´m telling him about the bracelet now. No fucking way._ Stiles grabbed Derek by the hips and shoved him against the porch railing. He was so riled up he didn´t even mind Scott who was gaping like a lunatic.  
  
"What are you-" Derek was able to splutter before Stiles smashed his lips against Derek´s, kissing him hard, a bit sloppy maybe, but still pretty possessive. For a few seconds Derek stood still, frozen, but then he kissed back with a ferocity that was... was... oh...oh wow. His plan to be in control went down the drain. Okay. Quickly Stiles broke away, catching his breath. God. Play it cool. Come on. You can do this. He dared to glare at Derek and noticed astonished that Derek appeared pretty flustered. His eyes were glazed over, his lips were shining wet and his bunny teeth were showing. He looked perfectly blindsided. Stiles felt the urge to close that mouth with another kiss, one that lasted at least... No. Don´t give him the satisfaction. He squared his shoulders. "Can you just trust me this once?" He bolted to his Jeep, arms flailing. He had every right to kiss Derek. The Alpha had kissed him, too, right? Not even asking for permission. So, he was more than entitled to do the same. Oh God. He had kissed Derek. He had kissed him right in front of Scott. Oh God. He had kissed the Alpha. He was fucking crazy. He drove off with haste, hearing his name echoing through the trees. He didn´t stop. His phone started ringing, playing _Blue Moon_ like the thing was mocking him. Okay. That he had chosen that ringtone was his own fault. So was falling for Derek. Right. He couldn´t blame that at anyone but himself. _Stupid. Stupid. Stupid._ He should smash his head into the wheel himself.  
  
So. Pretty mad he arrived at the animal clinic to continue his training. He needed to calm down. He needed something to keep busy. He tried to kindle the needed spark with Scott in mind. He didn´t want to think about Derek. He needed to prove that he could do magic without Derek. Yeah. Guess what happened? He failed. Deaton remained insufferably patient with him, though Stiles was spreading mountain ash all over the place, not able to do one complete circle. In the end he felt hollow.  
  
"You need an outlet, something to calm you down," Deaton said, instead of criticizing him.  
  
_Duh!_ "Maybe I should start singing like Kali´s fair-haired boy," he said, disgruntled.  
  
"Maybe you should," Deaton accepted his suggestion. "Whatever helps you to relax and focus."  
  
"That was a joke."  
  
"Not a good one considering it´s true."  
  
"You can´t be serious?" Stiles stared at him. "Oh my god, you are." He eyed his mentor warily. "How can you possibly know about that?"  
  
"I have my sources," Deaton said with the patience of a wise man. Or a lunatic. Was there even a difference? Stiles clenched his fists. Sometimes the guy´s personal quirks were just fucking annoying. Couldn´t he give a straight answer for once? Why did he have to be an enigma every damn second? "I´m going home."  
  
"I agree. You should rest."  
  
Ha! He didn´t need rest. He needed to do something. He needed to prove Derek wrong. He needed to prove to Derek that he was as worthy as Scott, or at least Allison. Yes. He would show the Alpha jerk what he was made of. He would present him Kali´s pack on a silver plate. Derek would apologize for being such an ass. Yeah, right. His anger didn´t hold him back from having the most vivid jerking off fantasies. His anger didn´t make him less horny for the werewolf´s ass. God, he was such an idiot.  
  
He switched his phone back on. Five messages from Scott. Oh, really? He dialed. "What? What does he want?" he snapped at a guileless Scott.  
  
"Uh...nothing, I just wanted to check on you."  
  
"I´m fine."  
  
"Yeah, I can hear that. Derek..."  
  
"...can go to hell."  
  
"Maybe he´s already there," Scott grumbled. "The last two hours he was stomping around like the big, bad wolf. Training was torture." He laughed.  
  
"Is this funny to you?"  
  
"No. I mean, maybe just a little bit. Both of you are."  
  
"What´s your point?"  
  
"You and Derek are acting like a couple who´ve broken up."  
  
"Ha!" Stiles huffed, unamused. "We´re no couple."  
  
"But you act like one."  
  
"I have no feelings whatsoever for that complete ass."  
  
"Okay. Got it," Scott said in a soothing tone. "No reason to get so angry."  
  
"Fine," Stiles agreed, more humble. He shouldn´t be mad at Scott. He wasn´t the werewolf he felt the urge to...to...  
  
"Just a second," Scott said. And then Stiles heard him murmur in the background. Who was he talking to? His mom? Allison? Derek? Was Scott talking about him? That he was pathetic? That he lost it?  
  
"You want me to come over?" Scott resumed their chat abruptly. "We could play some games."  
  
"No."  
  
"Will you come to the pack meeting tomorrow?"  
  
"No."  
  
"Stiles..."  
  
"He doesn´t want me there. He said I´m useless. So be it. I´m not coming."  
  
"Derek never said you´re useless," Scott said, giving a hearty sigh.  
  
A very profound sound for a guy like Scott, Stiles noted, slightly alert. "How´s it going with Allison?"  
  
"Good."  
  
"Mm," he scoffed, disbelieving. "Don´t you dare let Isaac beat you, you hear me? He sucks."  
  
"Uh...uh..." Scott said, coughing awkwardly. "I think we have bigger problems on our hands."  
  
"Not me," he lied, and hung up. Kind of rude, but Scott was right. There were bigger problems he had to take care of. He showered and got dressed. He drove to the school. Since Deaton had confirmed that Samual hadn´t been joking about Elias attending choir practice the plan had taken shape. He would waylay the singing werewolf bully coming out of class. He snorted. He just couldn´t believe that Kali let Elias do such a girlish thing. That didn´t get in line with her harsh leadership. That didn´t feel right considering everything he had learned about her so far.  
  
The first baffling sight, though was not Elias, but Allison and Isaac, sitting on a bench, talking. Oh crap. No wonder Scott didn´t want to talk about her or Isaac. He must be devastated. Stiles should have let him come over and play some games. Probably Scott was home right now, sulking. Oh. How about that! He was not. Stiles´s mouth dropped open. His best friend just joined the couple in what you could only call high spirits. Ugh...Scott and Isaac were even touching each other. Allison on the other hand was glowing like she had won the top prize. What the hell? Why is Scott meeting Isaac and not telling me? What is he up to? Why is he lying to me? Now he just needed Lydia and Peter walking down the street, holding hands, and disaster would be waiting to crush him. He shook his head to get rid of that nasty image. Okay. Not that I´m telling anyone what I´m up to but still... what is going on, Scott? Since when do you keep secrets from me? _Seriously! Shut up!_  
  
He was so distracted by his _friends_ cheering for each other that he almost missed Elias walking out of school. Luckily the Beta slammed the doors before he strutted across the parking lot. Stiles ducked behind some cars, forgetting about the odd threesome. Elias headed for the woods right away. Keeping a reasonable distance Stiles followed him. He didn´t want the werewolf to scent or hear him. He got lucky. Elias started singing as soon as he entered the woods, which made it easy to keep up without the risk of being caught.  
  
_"I've got to get to you first before they do.  
It's just a question of time before they lay their hands on you.  
And make you just like the rest.  
I've got to get to you first it's just a question of time.  
Well now you're only fifteen and you look good.  
I'll take you under my wing somebody should..."_  
  
Against his will Stiles felt enchanted by the song and Elias´s way of performing. Such a talent. How did he end up with a woman like Kali? How could he waste that beautiful voice? What had she done to win him over? What was it about werewolves? Were they irresistible? Was there no chance to say no to them? Rats! He almost stumbled over a damn root. _Gee! Focus!_  
  
_"It's just a question of time  
It should be better with you  
It's just a question of time  
It should be better..."_  
  
The sun was setting when they reached a small pond hidden behind an area of bushes. There Kali was waiting, prowling the shores. "She lost the damn thing again," she started complaining instead of a greeting. "Why does she always lose her stuff?"  
  
Elias stopped singing. "You do, too."  
  
"I do not." She growled at him.  
  
"Do too." His teeth came out. "The Alpha of fail."  
  
Stiles winced. _Those words...._  
  
"Shut up."  
  
"Make me."  
  
She jumped him, though without any claws extended. Elias blocked her attack and tackled her. They both fell to the ground with Elias ending up on top. She showed her teeth but didn´t make a serious move to get him off of her.  
  
"Do you like that, Alpha bitch?" Elias snarled. "Do you?" He bit down on her neck. Kali roared. "I thought so." Elias pulled her top off and buried his face between her breasts. Kali´s roar softened into a purr. "You want me, huh? You want me to fuck you," Elias chaffed. In a hurry he pulled his pants down and then, then he rutted against her.  
  
_Oops!_ Stiles moved behind a tree. Okay. Kali and her fifteen year old Beta were a lot more intimate than having shared a few licks and kisses. Not that Elias looked his age, he was all tall and muscled. Still Kali could have ripped him apart any time. Stiles was stunned about the way she let Elias talk to her and treat her. The Alpha submitted almost naturally. Stiles tried to blank out the lustful grunts and groans. _Hey. Am I jealous? Am I turned on by my worst enemies? Am I really that desperate, huh?_ He pressed his face against the mossy tree. _Oh god, oh-_  
  
Kali screamed.  
  
Stiles lost his footing and stepped on something weirdly fluffy. What the hell? He picked the thing up. A stuffed wolf. What? How did such a thing end up here? What was a toy doing in the middle of the woods? What´s going on?  
  
He heard splashing. He peeked around the tree. Kali and Elias were done. The _loving_ couple were taking a swim in the pond. Elias soaked Kali with a gush of water. She laughed. The Beta sniggered and sounded suddenly very much his age.  
  
Holy God! Stiles couldn´t believe that those two were the same people who threatened to kill Boyd and Erica. He shoved the little wolf down his pants and sneaked through the bushes.  
  
There. The one thing that was baiting him to come out of hiding. The bracelet, lying forgotten on the moist earth. _So careless, Alpha bitch._ He crept up to the prize he needed to win the game, and maybe the Alpha´s trust. He didn´t glance at Kali´s nakedness under the moonlight. He didn´t care. Okay. Maybe he checked out Elias a little bit. No. Not his type. He preferred them darker, broodier. _For God´s sake! Focus!_  
  
"Rae will be upset," Kali said, sounding miserable.  
  
"I´ll find the thing." Elias spooned her from behind, placing playful kisses on her neck. "Trust me."  
  
"Okay," Kali sniffed, leaning into him.  
  
_Do whatever you want. Just don´t look over here._ Stiles snatched the bracelet and sneaked back through the bushes. Not before he had returned under the cover of the trees did he dare to exhale. He had hoped they would lead him to Boyd and Erica, but this was even better. This was the thing he had never hoped to get his hands on. This was the chance to beat them. He inspected the bracelet more closely. Red and blue jewels intertwined with golden jackals. One outstanding charm. The letter R. Mmh? That could be an important clue. Where did she get the gem anyway? Had she stolen it from her father after she had killed him? He shuddered. How could she even do that? Kill her own dad. She must be evil. Yeah? Why did she turn so cuddly with a boy at least five years younger than her then? Why did she let him control her? Why did she let him sing? Why did she-  
  
-shot out of the bushes. "I knew I scented something foul."  
  
Fuck! Stiles shoved the bracelet into his pocket.  
  
"Isn´t this the one who can do magic?" Kali hurled him into the next tree. "The Alpha´s favorite."  
  
"Not even close," Stiles spat, holding his throbbing head.  
  
"Don´t lie. I can smell he already marked you." Kali stood butt-naked in front of him, while pearls of water were running down her ebony skin.  
  
_What? No. Derek didn´t, did he?_ Stiles chewed that over. _That was only a kiss. A kiss that was more a threat than…_  
  
Kali smirked. "What are you doing here?"  
  
"Taking a hike."  
  
"Cheeky." She slammed his head into the tree once more.  
  
"Fuck!"  
  
"Cut the macho crap."  
  
"Not macho." Stiles clenched his teeth. "Never was."  
  
"Elias rushed off to get the others. Hale will crumble and give in now that we have _you_ as a hostage."  
  
"Yeah, right!" He was more worried for the bracelet than his own safety. She couldn´t find it. He needed to bring that thing to Derek and the pack. "Good luck with that." Secretly he wriggled his hand into his pocket, fishing for leftovers, and took a few steps back. He needed to do this. Now that he´d got his hands on the key to success he was bound and determined to defend his prize no matter what.  
  
"There´s no escape. I´m faster-"  
  
"Doesn´t matter. I´m magic." Okay. Now! He threw a handful of ash into the air. You can do this. Derek needs you. The pack needs you. Boyd and Erica can´t die. Trust in yourself. You. Can. Do. This. You can! The stuff floated briefly above him and then came down in a perfect circle entrapping her. _Duh!_ Nobody was as surprised as he that he really did it. "Yes!" He pumped his fist into the air.  
  
Kali roared and wolfed out, pushing against the invisible boundary. In vain. The circle bore up against her power like she had turned into a weak, little girl.  
  
"I told you I can do magic," Stiles crowed. "See ya." He sprinted away. He prayed she couldn´t break the circle. He knew she would certainly kill him now that he had humiliated her. He heard her howl. She called for the others. He started running. He hoped that Elias and the others weren´t too close. Their camp must be nearby. What would they do to him if they caught him? Would they rip him apart? Would they send the pieces to Derek to make a point? Would they bury his body in a forsaken grave in the woods? Would they make him disappear so that nobody would ever find him? _Christ! Would you stop thinking up crap like that?_  
  
He fumbled his phone out and called Scott. "Hey. I found something. I´ll be at your house in twenty minutes."  
  
"What?" Scott mumbled, his voice low and sleepy. "Uh...that would be pointless. I´m not home."  
  
"Fine. I hope you´re having fun with your new friends." He hung up. He didn´t need Scott. He was favored by Derek already because he was a werewolf. He didn´t need Scott taking his advantage and turning it into his own, or worse, telling Isaac. Though he was hurting, he was bursting with pride, too. He had tricked Kali. He had showed the bitch. Yes. His head was feeling a little fuzzy but not too bad. He had done good. His finding would help Derek to beat Kali. He would stun the Alpha with the unexpected capture. Derek would be forced to make amends to him. Yeah. A burning spark lit up his heart and he pushed himself to a record-breaking speed, ignoring his constantly ringing phone. _Blue Moon you saw me standing alone...._  
  
He reached the school and his Jeep with a stitch in his side. So what? He had succeeded. He was the man. The ride back to his house was a different kind of ordeal. He was just so damn horny, and the little wolf in his pants rubbing constantly against his sensitive cock wasn´t helping to change that. _Jeez! I´m not magic. I´m sick._ He barely made it home where he rushed into the shower jerking off, exhilarated. Naturally Derek was on his mind. In bed he jerked off a second time, and enjoying the afterglow he panted Derek´s name a few times. He just couldn´t stop. Holy fuck! He was in so much trouble. He was such a mess. Derek would have a field day knowing ... a tiny, raspy noise, sounding like someone was choking made him stop abusing Derek´s name. "Who´s there? God dammit, Scott." He switched the light on. Nobody. He was alone in the room. He shivered. How stupid of him to leave the window open. The nights were already too cold. Naked he walked over and closed it. Strange. He could have sworn he had closed the damn thing before he had started his second round. Well. He wasn´t thinking too clearly then. He could be wrong.  
  
He slipped under the blanket and reached for the stuffed wolf. Snuggling the fluffy substitute he closed his eyes to get some rest at last. _Who´s afraid of the big, bad wolf? Not me. Not me. Because I´d like to be eaten._  
  
_Holy God!_ He snorted with laughter. _I´m not sick. I´m mental._  
  



	5. Into the Woods

  
He woke up in darkness, still naked, feeling thirsty. He set out to go downstairs, and stilled. There was a tall shape standing by the window. _Gee!_ He blinked. The shape hadn´t moved. "Derek?" He froze. Shit! Why had he said that? How ridiculous to think that the Alpha would come here to check on him. He blinked again. The shape was still lurking. So, was he dreaming or not? "If you don´t talk you better leave." He turned around and faced the wall. He counted. One werewolf. Two werewolves. Three werewolves. He turned back. The shape was gone. Right. Stupid pipe dream. I´m an idiot. Thank God it´s Saturday. Ignoring his thirst he went back to sleep.  
  
No school didn´t mean his day started untroubled. In the morning Lydia called to persuade him to come over to training.  
  
He said no. "Don´t pretend, Lydia. I know I mean nothing to you."  
  
"You´re wrong. You mean a lot to me, just not in a romantic way."  
  
"No problem. I´m over you."  
  
"Oh, I know that." She giggled. "I have to agree with Peter. You´re an idiot."  
  
"Thanks. I´m feeling so much better. Particularly about you and Peter being friends now."  
  
"We´re not friends. He´s just... helping me to figure out who I am."  
  
"And who are you?" Yeah, me too. I wish I knew.  
  
"I don´t know - yet." There was a long pause.  
  
Stiles knew the connection wasn´t broken, because he could hear Lydia breathing. _What is it, huh?_ He was rubbing his left hand over the seam of his pants. Eew! How he despised the feeling of cold sweat.  
  
"Stiles, you´re important to the pack. We need you," she finally continued. "Come on, don´t be stupid."  
  
"That´s me. Stupido. The Alpha said so." He hung up. His eyes stung with unshed tears. "I hate him. I hate him so much." Yeah, right. That´s why he was staring at the window waiting for Derek to come right at him. That´s why he was biting his nails. He snorted. It was about time to get his mind off of Derek. Naked Derek. Kissing him. Apologizing. Holy Crap! He needed to get out of here. All that brooding was giving him a headache. He needed fresh air. He needed a distraction.  
  
Deaton. He would ask Deaton to come with him to the woods to look at the ash circle. If Kali was still trapped inside Deaton was the best choice to take along. Besides a werewolf of course. He pushed the stuffed wolf under his pillow. His dad couldn´t find out what a wuss he was.  
  
If Deaton was surprised by his call or request he didn´t say a word about it. "Mr. Stilinski. Are you ready for more lessons?"  
  
"Yes. No. Not yet. First I need to show you something."  
  
"Do you?"  
  
"In the woods. Can I pick you up?"  
  
"If you think that´s necessary."  
  
"I think it is."  
  
His departure was delayed because in the kitchen he spotted his shirt with the target hanging over a chair. The one he had ripped at training with Derek. A note was pinned to the collar. He fetched it with haste and read. "I know how much you love that old thing, god knows why, so I fixed it. Dad." Oh shit. A fresh wave of guilt washed over him. He was a terrible son. He should rip the shirt apart and then throw the damn thing into the garbage to punish himself. Nah. He got rid of the one he was wearing instead and put the favored one on, somehow feeling more properly armed for battle now. "Thanks, dad," he murmured and stuck the note under a magnet on the fridge. He would make it up to him. He would have dinner with him tonight.  
  
An hour later he and Deaton arrived at the place he almost got himself killed last night. They found the circle in order but Kali was gone. Shit. Not good. Definitely not good. "I thought I got it."  
  
"I think you did. I´d call it a win."  
  
"Kali got away." He nibbled at his fingers. Where is she? What will happen? When will she take her vengeance?  
  
"Only a human could have broken the circle," Deaton declared, pointing at a small rock disrupting the ash line. "Are you sure you were alone?"  
  
"I think so. Elias was nearby but he´s a werewolf." He scratched his head. "There was something strange, though. I found a stuffed wolf on the ground. The thing is pretty neat, not dirty or spoiled due to lying here for long."  
  
"That´s odd," Deaton agreed. "Where is it now?"  
  
"In my room." _Sharing my bed._ "Maybe the magic was broken by the stone falling down by accident?"  
  
"Never. A human had to put it there. Otherwise the magic remains intact." Deaton scanned the area. "There is nothing we can do here right now. Let´s go back to the clinic and test your improved skills."  
  
"Right." Stiles hid his disappointment. He´d wanted to show this man he was worth the effort he took teaching him. But that hadn´t happened. Instead he had failed once more. A desire to flee seized him but he forced himself to follow his mentor, ignoring the coldness in his hands. He put the blame on the fresh wind blowing through the trees.  
  
On the drive back to the animal clinic he didn´t talk. Guess what? Deaton let him stew in his juices. Yup. The man was worse than Derek when it came to small talk or making someone feel better. Okay. Maybe it was his own fault. He didn´t want to talk. He didn´t want any encouragement right now. He just wanted to sulk in solitude.  
  
At their arrival Deaton got back to business immediately. He shook fresh ash out of a glass jar onto Stiles´s palm.  
  
Stiles ground the sandy matter between his fingers to get a feeling. "I don´t know how I did it last night. It just happened."  
  
"That´s the secret of the spark, Mr. Stilinski," Deaton said, rearranging the mysterious stuff on the shelf. "Let´s get started."  
  
A few tries later Stiles was utterly frustrated. He had failed to make one stupid circle. What the hell? Deaton must think he was telling lies. "Um..." He was staring at his hands which were still feeling cold.  
  
"Your mind isn´t clear," Deaton said. He handed Stiles a broom. "For now there´s no point continuing."  
  
Stiles started sweeping the floor. Okay. Good idea. Whatever made the coldness go away. "I´m sorry. I´m such a failure."  
  
Deaton shook his head. "Not at all. I can see your improvement even though you still don´t believe. What is bothering you?"  
  
"Kali!" Oops! He didn´t realize how much he had suffered keeping everything in. His fists tightened around the wooden handle. "I don´t get her. She treats Elias really harsh, even injured him cruelly, but alone with him she was all soft and snuggly. She even let him dominate her."  
  
"What´s the question, Mr. Stilinski?"  
  
"Uh...is that the usual way an Alpha treats a Beta h-she´s with?" He was pounding the floor so hard that the broom handle was in danger of breaking apart.  
  
"Usual? I don´t know. I think it simply means he´s her favorite and that she cares for him, but she can´t show that in front of the pack. Wouldn´t it be worse the other way around? If she treats him fair in public and hurts him in private?"  
  
_Oh. Right._ He stopped the sweeping, stiffening. His muscles ached. "I´ve never looked at it that way."  
  
"The relationship between an Alpha and a Beta is always complicated, but even more between an Alpha and a human."  
  
"Okay." He flushed. "Not that something like that happens very often, right?" _Oh God. Deaton is too clever. Don´t say one more thing. Zip it!_  
  
"A lot more than anyone thinks." A sudden sadness disturbed Deaton´s otherwise expressionless face. He turned to the shelf and rearranged the jars once more. "There is always more than one side to a story."  
  
What the hell, man? How often can you move a set of jars around? What are you hiding behind those dark eyes? "Yeah? Do you mean there is more to Kali? Something we haven´t figured out yet?"  
  
"I can´t say. We need patience. We need a clear head. Finish and go home to get some rest."  
  
Yeah. He should. And? Did he? No. He waited for Deaton to leave the room instead and then secretly filled his pockets with a few handfuls of ash, stolen from one of the overused jars. He betrayed Deaton´s trust. Well. Wasn´t his first crime, was it? _A little delinquent my dad once called me._ Right. But Deaton wasn´t his dad. He´d know what he had done by just taking one good look at him. Okay. Time to take the easy way out, the _yellow_ way. "See ya tomorrow!" he yelled, and hurried outside, sprinting to his Jeep. Phew! That had worked like a charm. Yet his heart didn´t stop burning with shame. Shit. Really? What was he doing? Did he even have a plan? Did he know what he was getting himself into? Hmmm. He grimaced. His headache was getting worse.  
  
More troubles were awaiting him at home. Scott, Allison and Isaac besieged his room.  
  
"What the fuck? What´s going on? Is Derek okay?" he blurted, caught off guard by all three of them slouching intimately on his bed. What happened to respect for privacy, huh? What happened to his best friend back-stabbing him like that? In need of support he leaned against the windowframe, rubbing his brow because his headache wasn´t getting any better.  
  
"No," Isaac scowled. "Certainly not. That´s why we´re here."  
  
_Crap!_ "Really? Isn´t it nice to finally be so appreciated." _Yeah. Sarcasm is my only defense._  
  
"Weren´t you always?" Isaac replied, leaning against Allison. The fierce hunter didn´t mind but put her hand on his arm.  
  
"Shit, bro. Why didn´t you answer your phone?" Scott said, jumping off the bed. "We thought Kali got to you."  
  
"I thought you were busy."  
  
"Just because I wasn´t home one night you behave like that?" Scott shook his head, giving a nervous laugh. "Come on."  
  
Stiles shrugged. "You got your things. I got mine."  
  
Surprised Scott looked at Allison and Isaac. Allison pursed her lips. _Hey. Not my best friend._ Isaac plucked at his scarf. _You think I care?_  
  
_See? Secrets. Not sharing. Assholes. And what about that stupid scarf? It isn´t that cold, is it?_ Stiles pouted, wriggling his stiff fingers.  
  
"I worry about you, Stiles," Scott confessed, patting his arm.  
  
"What? I´m good." Just a bit cold.  
  
"You´re not yourself lately."  
  
"Oh?" Stiles mocked him, pointedly stabbing his index finger against Scott´s chest. "Look who´s talking?"  
  
"Seriously, Stiles, you were never...ever like that." Scott didn´t back away, neither did he fall for his diversion. "Not even when your mom died. Cheerless. Close-lipped. Secretive. What´s going on?"  
  
"Derek hates me." _Oops! Am I nuts? Why did I say that?_ Frantically he rubbed his temples. _Damn headache._  
  
Isaac snorted. "You´re such a little shit."  
  
Allison elbowed him. "Not helping." Isaac leaned in closer, whispering something to Allison Stiles didn´t understand. Was that French? Allison replied urgently in the same language, tightening her grip on Isaac´s arm. The werewolf´s expression softened.  
  
"Oh come on," Scott said. "Do you really believe that after all he did for you?"  
  
"Like what?"  
  
"I saw...you know...uh...well..."  
  
"That meant nothing." The unconcealed intimacy of Allison and Isaac in front of Scott enraged him. How dare they? Have they no spark of decency?  
  
Certainly Scott´s mind was focused on him. "That´s why you´re home, sulking, instead of attending pack meetings?"  
  
"Derek doesn´t want me around."  
  
"He does. He didn´t say but we all know he does."  
  
"Sure."  
  
"Derek´s acting weird. He punishes us, you know." Scott sighed. "I already told you that training yesterday was disastrous. Derek actually hurt Isaac." A flash of something indescribable ran over Scott´s face. "Peter had to intervene to prevent something worse from happening."  
  
_Yeah, right! Hail to Peter, and a big fuck you to Isaac._ Did he care that Derek was behaving irrationally? Sure. Did he feel guilty? Definitely. Did he like feeling that way? No. Why in the world did he like that guy? That broody, stubborn, macho wolfman?  
  
"I didn´t tell you the worst yet," Scott continued. "We can´t find Derek. He´s not home and he´s not answering his phone. We´re worried about him, too. You and Derek are behaving ridiculously." His eyes glowed briefly in golden yellow.  
  
A brilliant color that wasn´t owned by Derek. Right. Stiles tensed. He was mad at Derek but thinking that he could be hurt or in danger was ailing him all the same, and seeing Derek fail as an Alpha was unbearable. "Okay. Fine. I´m coming with you but only because there is something I have to tell Derek anyway."  
  
"Oh?" Isaac rolled his eyes. "What in god´s name could that be?"  
  
Allison shushed him. Isaac silenced, looking at her like a fucking puppy. Worse. Scott regarded both of them with an Alpha-like smile.  
  
Holy Crap! Those three were damn annoying. "Let´s go." He fetched his baseball bat. Better a paltry weapon than no weapon at all.  
  
"I can´t wait to see-" Isaac started, but was silenced once more.  
  
Stiles didn´t turn around to see how and by whom. He already had enough things on his mind to worry about.  
  
The Hale house came across as abandoned. Not a sound was heard, not even a bird singing which struck him as kind of creepy. The four of them clambered out of the Jeep.  
  
Scott called out for Derek. No answer. "Check the house, Stiles. We´ll search the area."  
  
Stiles nodded. Where was Derek? Why didn´t he get in touch with them, at least with Isaac who was by all means part of his pack. "Derek? Hey, big guy? Are you up there?" He climbed the stairs, trying to calm his heartbeat down. He found Derek´s room empty with the floor swept clean and the bed neatly made, though it was only a mattress with a blanket. The few books on the shelf were put in order alphabetically. Stiles snorted. Derek Hale. Wolfman. Book-lover. He checked every corner for slight traces of use. Had Derek slept here at all last night? Had he some other place to stay over? A secret lover´s nest maybe? Stiles´s shoulders slumped a bit. Oh, come off it! He strolled to the window with the milky glass and peeked out. He spotted nothing to soothe his nerves.  
  
Kali and her pack were coming out of the woods. Shit! Where the fuck was Derek? Where was Peter? Where did his friends go? Why did the Alpha leave the property so unguarded? Has he lost all sense of reason? Have we all lost our minds?  
  
Even from here Stiles could make out Kali´s toothy grin and that her eyes were on fire. Elias put a hand on her shoulder. Was he trying to calm her down? Wasn´t he afraid of getting slashed up again? Was he the one in charge after all?  
  
Stiles tumbled down the stairs and took position on the porch. He would guard this house as well as he could. Gripping his baseball bat he struck a hero pose like that would do him any good. Derek was right. He was ridiculous. He was no use in any fight. Out of the corner of his eye he noticed that Scott, Allison and Isaac were on their way back. He swallowed. They were still far away, though, more than enough time for Kali to slash his throat.  
  
"I learned about your tricks last night, boy. Don´t think I can´t handle them," the female started their clash. Elias and Samual sneered. The older Betas appeared calm and daunting. A ruthless pack made out of steel and blood.  
  
In spite of being scared shitless Stiles stood his ground. What was he supposed to do? How had he wound up here anyway? Why did he get himself into this crap? His palms were cold and sweaty and his headache was killing him. He took a shuddering breath. God! I´ll never complain about my life being boring again. I- A hand dropped on his shoulder. He almost screamed.  
  
"It´s me," Derek murmured into his ear.  
  
_Oh yeah? Where the fuck have you been? What´s your game?_ Yet his fears were erased like a snuffed out flame. Derek was here. He was alive. He was at his side. He forced down the stupid smile that was fighting to crawl out of his aching throat and over his trembling lips.  
  
Kali threw a small object on the ground. Stiles stared and stared. HOLY SHIT! The frayed thing was a finger. A dark-skinned finger. Boyd´s finger. The smile just teasing Stiles´s lips slid back down his throat like a snake sliding back into a pit of despair.  
  
"Your little punk stole what´s ours!" Elias snarled. "Give it back to us or you´ll regret it."  
  
Kali growled at him. That was all. She and her Beta appeared to be as one today.  
  
"I don´t know what you´re talking about, Kali," Derek said. "My pack was here last night. Every one of them."  
  
"You´re a liar." Kali was rocking on her heels. A small band of white trimmed her left ankle now that the bracelet was gone. "Not that I´m surprised. All men are liars." Her mouth twisted into an ugly grimace. "Good. Have it your way."  
  
Scott, Isaac and Allison had arrived and secured the flank. Allison put an arrow on her crossbow and aimed the weapon straight away at Kali.  
  
The Alpha was not impressed. "Next time I come here I´ll bring you a better trophy." She clawed the finger with her right foot. The thing that once belonged to Boyd flew through the air and smacked on the porch right next to Stiles. "His head."  
  
Isaac jerked forward but Scott hauled him back, embracing him from behind. Allison was looking like she was about to shoot her arrow and was only waiting for the ultimate signal. Stiles could feel that Derek was somehow shaken up and on the verge of saying the word. Oh no. Please don´t do anything rash. Be the Alpha. Should he touch Derek to calm him down? Was that the right thing to do? Did he even have the privilege of doing so?  
  
The decision was taken away by a stifled scream wavering through the air. They all jerked their heads around to look for the source.  
  
Lydia! She was standing in front of the tree line. Her mouth was hanging open in a grimace of horror as if she had seen death himself. Peter was backing her up by supporting her right elbow.  
  
Where had those two been? Why was Lydia screaming like that? What´s going on? Stiles swallowed the last of his spit. Something was wrong. So very, very wrong.  
  
"There will be a lot of more screaming tomorrow." Kali smirked, and then she raced toward the woods, pack in tow.  
  
Lydia flinched as they were coming right at them, but Peter quickly moved in front of her. Kali´s pack swerved to the left and missed the pair by a mile. Only Samual came way too close to Lydia, and Peter had no choice but to smash him into a tree. Samual squealed. Kali stopped and turned around. Samual was catching up effortlessly, but his right arm was dangling lifeless at his side. Kali slapped Samual over the head. The boy dared to bare his teeth at her. Surprisingly he was not further harmed for the profanity. In sync the two wolves sprinted along to close the gap to the others. The pack submerged into the thick of green where a bird was just now striking a miserable note.  
  
Derek exhaled. That sound was all the Alpha surrendered considering how gloomy things were.  
  
Oh Crap! Knowing Derek for some time Stiles figured that the lack of emotion was rather a bad sign. He turned his attention to Lydia and Peter coming over. Stiles was stunned that Lydia was able to walk at all seeing how much she was shaking. Peter kept close to her ready to catch her in case she might faint after all. She didn´t.  
  
"Lydia?" Stiles was bouncing on his feet. "Are you okay?"  
  
She nodded curtly at him but stayed close to Peter. The creep looked pretty content with himself.  
  
"We have to do something, Derek," Isaac got to the point, shaking off Scott´s hands. "We can´t wait any longer."  
  
Derek ignored him and stepped into Stiles´s personal space instead. "What did you do?"  
  
"Who said it was me?" He almost lost his grasp on the bat. Stupid cold sweat.  
  
"Stiles." Derek´s nostrils flared along with a flash of pointy teeth.  
  
"Okay. Fine." He was flailing his hands, swinging the bat around like a weapon. As if that would help him against an Alpha. "I followed Elias into the woods last night."  
  
"You did _what_?"  
  
"I found out that the bracelet Kali is wearing is ancient," Stiles explained. "The thing could be the main reason that her pack has that kind of power." He was looking at Lydia. _Say something. You and I had that idea together._  
  
Lydia´s eyes widened. Yet she stayed mute creeping closer to Peter.  
  
_Really, huh?_ "I got lucky. I caught Kali and Elias unawares." He looked at the others for a sign of support or understanding. No. Not happening. "I stole the precious treasure right under their noses."  
  
"You could have got bitten. You could have got killed," Derek flustered, his jaw working, making a horrible cracking sound.  
  
"I would make an awesome werewolf," Stiles baited him. Okay. Maybe he shouldn´t enjoy their clash that much. Maybe he should keep it down a notch. Maybe - _I don´t give a fuck_.  
  
"With Kali as your Alpha?" Derek countered, rasping with rage.  
  
"Not your concern, Dude. Not part of the pack, remember?" he pitched back. "I think Kali is weaker without that thing. That´s why she didn´t attack today, only making empty threats." His headache was gone. So was the coldness. He was feeling hot, a searing kind of heat that was bouncing off of his skin, leaving every hair on his body standing right up. He barely noticed the pack dancing around them like they were going slowly mad. All he could see was Derek. The angry brow. The heated glare. The scent of frustration. Wait! What? How could he even-  
  
"Idiot!"  
  
"Moron!"  
  
"What do you call empty threats?" Derek barked. "Boyd probably got tortured and mutilated because of your actions."  
  
Oh God. No. He hadn´t realized that. He hung his head, rubbing his face. "I didn´t think about that."  
  
"You never think. You´re rash and disobedient."  
  
"I do what I want."  
  
"I´m the Alpha. You do as _I_ say."  
  
"No!" Moving forward Stiles thrust his bat against Derek´s chest.  
  
The wooden tip barely touched him but Derek winced.  
  
Hey! His arms fell to his sides and the weapon scraped over the wooden floor. "What´s wrong with you? Are you hurt?" he squeaked, fighting back a sour taste twisting his belly into a knot. He tried to touch Derek with his bare hands.  
  
"No." Derek moved backwards.  
  
"He very much is," Peter revealed, crossing his arms. The expression on his face marked how pissed off he was. Everybody but Lydia and Derek took a step back from him. "He came home this morning from God knows where, bleeding like a slaughtered bunny. Kali´s pack was obviously very well informed where my dear nephew sneaks around by night so they were able to ambush him. He´s lucky he escaped."  
  
"How serious is it?" Stiles mewled, having lost a lot of his anger.  
  
"It´s nothing. It´s nobody´s business but mine," Derek grumbled, cheeks reddening.  
  
"I think at least the one person who you got hurt for should know," Peter snapped at him, unusually irritated.  
  
_Oh. Look at that! Peter is really mad at Derek,_ Stiles mused in awe. What´s going on? Where was Derek sneaking around? What´s he hiding?  
  
"Shut up," Derek hissed at his uncle, eyebrows raised. The color on his cheeks darkened to a glorious shade.  
  
Stiles played on the distraction. He rushed forward and tore Derek´s shirt upwards. There was a big red hole in the middle of his chest. A genuine hole! "Oh my God! Derek!" Stiles yelled, frantic. "Are you out of your mind? You can´t walk around wounded like that. You have to go to Deaton."  
  
Derek shook his head gruffly and dragged his shirt back down. "It´s no problem. I´m already healing." He reached out to Stiles. "Give me the bracelet."  
  
"Why?" His fingers danced around the bat handle. "I´m the one who got it off Kali."  
  
"So what?"  
  
" _I_ am the one giving the pack the opportunity to go into battle." Displeased he continued stroking along the length of his bat to calm his nerves. "Just... some appreciation would be nice."  
  
Derek´s lips curled. "What kind of appreciation are you talking about?"  
  
"Huh?" Stiles choked out. His dick twitched. Holy God!  
  
"Patience." Derek´s tongue darted out, moistening his lips.  
  
The sight sparked Stiles´s needs to soar. _Jeez! Stop that!_ "What are you saying?"  
  
"You did good, okay?" Derek sighed. The warmth in his eyes died down. "Now let us do the rest."  
  
"Still not getting what-" Stiles said, flailing because, you know, reasons.  
  
"You´re not coming with us. You stay here."  
  
"What?" Stiles´s anger flared up again, blinding him for all reason. "No way. What about Lydia? She´s just as incapable of fighting."  
  
"Hey!" The red-head raised her voice. "No need to drag me into this. You have no idea what I can do." Peter laughed and grabbed her hand. "Lydia is perfectly safe with me."  
  
"Stiles," Derek insisted. "Kali hates you the most for taking the bracelet."  
  
"No fucking way, you asshole! I´m not staying behind while you play hero and win the day."  
  
"That´s not what this is about."  
  
The pack was barging closer, eyes darting back and forth frenzied between the Alpha and the boy.  
  
"Give it to me," Derek ordered once more.  
  
"No. I deserve to keep it. I´ve got enough bruises to-" Shit! He bit his tongue, but too late.  
  
"You got what?" Derek scowled, pawing for the hem of his shirt.  
  
Hastily Stiles jumped out of reach. He figured that Derek knew the truth anyway. He was never good at lying to someone´s face, least of all the one werewolf he was crushing on.  
  
Derek didn´t chase after him but he sniffed the air, grunting.  
  
Stiles didn´t know if he was trying to scent the bruises on his body; if he really could do that. He flinched anyway.  
  
Derek jerked back sharply like he had been slapped. The other werewolves whined in sympathy.  
  
Stiles groaned, squeezing his eyes shut. "There´s like, zero chance of us pretending that nothing happened to me, is there?"  
  
"No," Derek huffed.  
  
Stiles cracked one eye open, knowing he was screwed. Usually he would find the look on Derek´s face hilarious. The dude looked trapped, frown practically etched in. Stiles opened his mouth twice to say something, feeling the heat spike hotter and hotter between his shoulder blades.  
  
Derek turned to the pack. "Isaac is right. It´s time to do something. Wait for me at the edge of the woods."  
  
Isaac and the girls obeyed at once, though Scott and Peter stayed behind.  
  
"Stiles, maybe Derek is right...?" Scott started, eyes darting to the woods.  
  
Stiles could tell that all he wanted to do was to follow Allison and Isaac. "Now you, too?" He glared at his so-called best friend. "Fuck. Why am I only foreplay material?"  
  
"Our little Stiles," Peter laughed, creepily. "Isn´t he the one with the words?"  
  
"We have no time for more discussions," Derek snarled. "You stay here or I´ll make you stay."  
  
"Mean. Unfair. Ruthless. That´s what you are, no Alpha in any way," Stiles spat at him. "That´s why you´re bonding with Peter. You are like him. You deserve each other."  
  
Derek´s eyebrows shot up. "Peter is family. No need to feel threatened."  
  
"Are you fucking kidding? Me feeling threatened?" Stiles snorted, rolling his eyes. "Who do you think you are?" _That´s why you call it sarcasm if you´d rather hurt yourself, right?_ "Someone I want?"  
  
"No," Derek huffed, teeth gleaming. "You hate me obviously."  
  
"I do hate you. You´re a killer. So you can die in those woods. I don´t care." The knot in his belly tightened, hurting like a biting snake. _Ah! Man!_ "I hope they´ll rip you apart and leave the pieces for every predator to feed on." _Holy Crap! What are you doing?_  
  
"Say that again." Derek´s eyes turned crimson. Hellfire-like.  
  
"You can..." Derek raced into the woods before Stiles was able to finish.  
  
Scott stared at Stiles like he was some peculiar thing. "Dude...way over the line." Wolfing out he chased after Derek.  
  
"That must have hurt, kiddo," Peter said, frowning upon him as if he was seeing him for the first time. "I´m once more impressed by your unique skill to make things worse. I think you finally pushed him far enough to go for a kill." He shook his head, as if he´d never seen that coming, then he followed his Alpha and the pack, moving in a smooth and sleek way that was unrivaled.  
  
"I don´t care," Stiles screamed after him. "It´s obviously not the first blood he had spilled." He stormed into the house and slammed the door shut. The building shuddered. "I hope the whole fucking dump just crumbles." In a fucking mood to trash whatever was left of this piece of shit he hunted through the house, hitting his bat into walls and steps. "Fucking werewolves!" Once more he entered Derek´s bedroom ready to mess up the neatest room in the house. First he fished the bracelet out of his pocket and smashed it into the lamp right next to the mattress. The innocent victim toppled over and crashed to the floor. _Wham!_ It was a miracle that the light bulb didn´t burst into a million pieces. The window glass was not so lucky. His bat hit the brittle pane full force shattering it. Jagged shards clattered to the ground. Whoa! The damage didn´t kill his anger. Hell no! Next he brushed all the treasured books off the shelf. No. Still not feeling any better. He jumped on the mattress, rolling around in the clean linen, bathing in the jerk´s scent, hating himself. Oh yeah. He was disgusting. Soaked up in self-loathing he discovered one thing that gave him a reason to hate himself for real, turning his world upside down. The shirt that Derek had once worn only briefly in Stiles´s room months ago. The blue and orange striped one. Yeah. There it was, lying in Derek´s bed like some kept treasure that actually belonged here. For a whole minute he gaped at the stupid thing. Gee! He hadn´t even noticed that it had vanished from his drawers. No surprise. The thing was kind of ugly. Why had he even bought it? Why was Derek keeping it? Why was he sleeping with it? Why did nothing make any sense right now?  
  
"...fuck..." His heart burnt like fire. His throat tightened. No, please. No panic attack. Not now. He pressed the shirt to his face and inhaled. That was Derek´s scent, wasn´t it? Derek! The grumpy wolf who was sleeping with a ridiculous shirt that belonged to a ridiculous boy named Stiles Stilinski. _Oh, god. The words I have said to him. Oh my God! Derek! What if... what if....the source of Kali´s power came from something else? What if I was wrong? Why did Derek trust me anyway? Why did I let him go? Why didn´t I keep my mouth shut?_ He leaped up and stumbled to the door.  
  
It was the middle of the night. A full moon was shining. No way he would run into those woods all by himself. Not because of some stupid shirt. Not because of sourwolf. Not because he needed to say how sorry he was.  
  
_Sure!_  
  
In record time he was out of the house and into the thick of woodlands. _Little Red Riding Hood on the way to scare up the wolf._ He cringed. _Oh, crap! The irony._


	6. Drifting in the Dark

The woods embraced him with spooky noises, like death was lurking around every tree. Stiles didn´t care. He needed to find Derek before it was too late. He needed to tell him that he didn´t want him dead. Not ever. No matter what was coming he couldn´t imagine living in a world with Derek gone.  
  
Once more he came across the pond, whose dark surface was glistering eerily in the moonlight. He stopped and scratched his head. Where could they be? Which way to take? What decision to make? He wished he could scent them like a werewolf, and bemoaning his lack of skills he noticed he had forgotten his precious bat. So what? The thing wouldn´t be of any help anyway. No, but he would feel safer just holding the damn club. He was practically coming here naked. Yeah. So? What´s the plan? Come on! He was spinning around, surveying the area. Where to go? Left? A small mound overgrown with moss was blocking his view. Right? A cluster of bare trees looking creepy in the worst way. God! Am I chasing shadows? Am I lost in the dark? "For fuck´s sake...."  
  
A shattering scream shoved the curse back down his throat; a blood-curling scream like hell was about to break loose. He almost toppled over due to the pain hitting his eardrums. Was that Lydia? Was she hurt? Covering his ears he squinted and spotted a few grotesque shapes moving in the distance. "Lydia? Scott? Allison?" he whispered, and circled the trees, getting closer. Finally he could make out the pack in the midst of the fray. Scott and Isaac were fighting side by side, moving in sync, like they had never done anything else. Lydia was pitted against one of the older Betas. God! No! Stiles put one hand over his mouth to keep himself from screaming. Somebody help her! Please! There. His silent prayer was answered undesirably. Peter was rushing to Lydia´s aid. Yet she screamed again, a piercing sound that made his blood run cold. Once more he covered both of his ears. The Beta did the same, squirming like he had been shoot. Peter lifted his claw, ready for the kill. Stiles squeezed his eyes shut, remembering the image when Derek had slashed Peter´s throat not that long ago. He didn´t want to see such a thing again. He didn´t want to watch someone die like that, no matter how bad a person he was. He wished he could be blind and deaf to all the violence. He wished he could bring himself to not give a fuck. He knew he wished for the impossible.  
  
A few endless seconds later he dared to open his eyes again. The pack was gone. No sign of anyone, least of all Derek. His stomach revolted in fear. Where was Derek? He needed to find Derek. He left the cover of the trees, moving yet closer ready to join the pack in fighting. They wouldn´t make him go away. They wouldn´t abandon him again. He wouldn´t let Derek take the burden all alone. He stopped again, observing. Sweat covered his upper lip. Casually he licked it off. The bitter taste angered his tongue. The taste of regret and missed opportunities.  
  
There! He discovered Derek fighting the second Beta Stiles had never learned the name of. Why was he by himself? Where did Peter and Lydia go? Where were Scott and his two shadows? Where were Kali and her moron lover? In spite of his concerns he couldn´t stop himself admiring how beautiful Derek looked in action. He was simply perfection. Stiles had never craved him more than now. Yeah. Downright silly. The next second the Beta slashed Derek´s cheek open. No! Stiles whined. Derek jerked his head around as if he had heard the tiny sound over the great distance. Quickly Stiles took cover behind some bushes. _Not possible. Not-_  
  
"Batman."  
  
He froze. "What the-"  
  
A little dark-skinned girl with dreadlocks rose from the bushes. Her white eyeballs were glowing due to the shine of moonlight. She was holding a stone. "Are you the bad man?" she whispered urgently. "Did you come to kill me?" She lifted her arm to throw the stone.  
  
"No." Quickly he showed the kid his bare hands to make her see he was unarmed. "I´m not gonna hurt you, sweetie. What´s your name?"  
  
"I´m not allowed to say."  
  
"Oh?" He bent down to her. "Why´s that, kiddo?"  
  
"The bad men. They´re after us." The arm with the stone started trembling. "They stole my wolf. Samual says they´ll steal me if they find me. Samual says they want to kill us all."  
  
_Oh, shit!_ Stiles crumbled. _I **am** the bad man._ He reached out to her. "Listen. That´s not-"  
  
"Rae!"  
  
The girl flinched. The stone fell from her hand.  
  
"Get back into the cave!" Kali screamed. The girl turned and ran.  
  
Stiles jumped back to his feet, though his heart dropped to his stomach.  
  
"Hi there, Alpha boy," Kali greeted him, fully wolfed out. "I think we should find out once and for all which of us is magic." She aimed a crossbow at him.  
  
"You think wrong," he snarled, and stumbled backwards through the patch of bushes. Cover. He needed to find cover. He needed time to get ready. He needed to get away from her. He was running along with the moonlight pointing the way through the bare trees. He ignored the rough pain of dead twigs slapping his face or that his skin was slashed open. He needed his energy for running. His heartbeat was booming in his ears. His breathing came in harsh gasps. His lungs hurt. Yet he was running faster, feeling Kali´s presence at his heels. He didn´t dare to look back. He focused on the trees flying by...dark and mysterious...god...he was scared...he was running...gasping...hurting....  
  
Finally he managed to fish a handful of mountain ash from his pocket to guard himself. He had to stop and attack her. He just couldn´t run anymore. He needed to stand his ground and fight. Maybe he was only human, but nobody should think he was weak, or worse, fragile. Yeah. He´d do what he could to protect the pack. Stiles Stilinski. Alpha Boy. Right. He dared to smile which felt strange but somehow fit the whole mess he was in. "Okay. C-"  
  
Something hit his body so hard he swayed on his feet. The ash fell from his hand. "Ah!" He continued stumbling on and didn´t even realize that he was injured, until the pain washed over him in waves. He screamed again and hitting a root, he crashed face forward flat to the mossy ground, like a felled tree. The arrow buried itself deeper into his flesh. He screamed bloody murder. He literally howled like a wolf.  
  
"I wonder how much your Alpha will like you dead." Kali cackled.  
  
She sounded closer than he thought she could be after his flight. He squinted. Oh shit! There she was, ready to finish him off. Yet not close enough. He checked his pockets frantically, his fingers sweating. Crap! Not again. Not now. No. No. No.  
  
She loaded the crossbow with a fresh arrow. "Stupid boy. Not an Alpha in any way."  
  
He shut his eyes. He didn´t want hers to be the last face he saw before death took him. He wanted to see the people he loved. His dad cheering him on at Lacrosse no matter he mostly failed to make him proud. Holding him in the night weeping for his mom. His mom telling him stories to calm him down. The last days at her bedside, crying. Standing at her grave, crying more. The sadness in the years after. The longing for her. The emptiness in his heart...until...well...not feeling empty anymore, no, more like full of anger and fear and pure _evil_ lust...all the time... because of... _him_.  
  
Oh, Derek. I´m sorry. I´m so sorry. I should have told you. I´m a coward. Well. I´ll never know now, right? Having no hope he picked up the last grains of ash and threw them into the air. Not enough to make a circle. Not even enough to fill a thimble. Right. But still... _I believe. I can do this. I´m magic. So is love. Derek. I-_  
  
The fatal shot never came. Instead he heard Kali scream. "You bastard!"  
  
He dared to open his eyes. A perfect circle of mountain ash entrapped a raging Kali. Oh my God! He did it again! He was the man. Hey! He was gonna make it. Derek would be so proud of him. The pack would...  
  
Brutally he was hoicked up from the ground and smashed down again. "AAAH!" The pain was excruciating. His knees felt like they were shattered. He blinked tears from his eyes. What the...? A tall shadow hovering. Elias! How could he forget about him? The Beta grinned down on him. "Say good-bye."  
  
Right. He was bleeding and he had no weapon. He was done. He was dead.  
  
Elias hauled him up again and exposed his neck. "No!" Stiles thrashed his legs like frenzy. Not like that. Not with my throat being ripped out. Not by him. Never by anyone but Derek. "Let me go!"  
  
"What? No magic?" Elias mocked him, shoving his pointy teeth into Stiles´s face.  
  
"Fuck you!" Stiles literally spat at him in return.  
  
"Careful. I may take you up on that offer," Elias countered, casually wiping the spit off. His breath smelled like hot caramel. Yuck! Stiles hated caramel. "Never gonna happen!" he keened, squirming. _I´m dead. God, I´m so dead._ "First I´ll kill you."  
  
"I have to admit. You´ve got guts," Elias sneered. "It´s too bad that I-" The next second he was hauled backwards like a leaf being ripped away by a hurricane.  
  
Shaking all over Stiles gaped at Allison standing by the trees, expression strong-willed and fierce. She was holding her crossbow. One of her arrows nailed Elias to a tree. Elias grimaced. His eyes were flashing a hellish orange. Foam was drizzling from one side of his mouth. Wolf´s Bane! Elias looked pretty well done. Still Allison shot a second arrow into the defenseless boy.  
  
"You bitch!" Kali fumed. She couldn´t do anything to help her lover. The ash circle didn´t fail. Elias was on his own. A lot more foam sprayed from his mouth. His body cramped with convulsions. Unconcerned by his misery Allison shot a third arrow.  
  
Kali had a raging fit. "I´ll kill you! I´ll rip your heart out! I´ll eat it raw!" She dropped to her knees and howled, churning up the earth with all four of her claws. Elias choked out more foam, and fighting the arrows piercing his chest, he frayed the holes bigger. Seeing this Kali started whining like a little girl. "No...please...don´t...not anymore...Eli..."  
  
_For heaven´s sake!_ Stiles should´ve felt victorious but he didn´t. Instead he was feeling sick. Sick to the bones. Yeah. Something was not right. Oh no. The star-strewn sky tipped over and was coming down on him. He gagged. _Fuck me!_  
  
"Stiles!" Derek grabbed him with rough hands and turned him around. "You idiot! I told you to stay at the house."  
  
"Oh look, the big bad wolf is back to harassing me. Oh yes. Please do so grumpy cat. Alpha me around," he babbled foolishly. _Oh, man..._ He tried to stop the flow of words but couldn´t. Instead he had to listen to a lot of more silly stuff tumbling from his lips. "Always in control. Mean to me. I saved his life, you know. Holding him above the water for hours. Did he treat me better after that? No. 'Course not."  
  
"Stiles."  
  
"He smashes me into walls, he kisses me until I´m half-crazy with want, but does he take me? No. ´Course not. He lets me off the hook. He pushes me away. He makes me run into these woods alone. His fault I´m injured. Not fair." His head dropped sideward. "Ugh...I don´t feel so..." He barfed. _Oh Crap!_ "Argh!" Awkwardly he wiped his mouth, gasping for air. The darkness around him increased. Oh god. The sight of the creepy bright moon. The sounds of desperation and death. The nasty taste in his mouth. He almost puked again. "I´m...sorry. I...."  
  
"Save your breath," Derek said and looked at him strangely. Hey! What was that in the Alpha´s face? Was he worried? No way, not the wolfman, not Derek _the asshole_ Hale, the one who always pushed him away, the one who didn´t trust him. Okay. Right. Yet the weirdest thing happened.  
  
Derek cradled him into his arms and howled like he had lost sight of the moon. He sounded like Kali seconds before she had turned mute.  
  
_Oh._ Well. Maybe Derek was worried. Maybe he got it all wrong. Wouldn´t be the first time. Stiles shivered. Spittle was running down his chin. "Do that again."  
  
"Scott and Isaac will help you with those two, Allison. I´ll get Stiles back to the house," Derek said instead, gripping him tight.  
  
"No," Stiles slurred. "I wanna fight. I´m not useless." He pushed against Derek´s arms embracing him. "Let me-"  
  
"You did enough, okay? You trapped their Alpha. Now it´s time to rest," Derek murmured, lifting him up.  
  
"No, I can do better. I need you to trust me," Stiles yelped. "Oh, put me down, you big oaf. I´m not a child."  
  
Derek rolled his bright, green eyes, and mumbled something which sounded like _God help me._  
  
"Let me take care of your injuries first, Derek," Allison disagreed. "Those arrows in your back..."  
  
"...are not important. I´ll heal."  
  
"Derek, dude," Scott said. "At least let us help you carry him."  
  
"No," Derek choked out. "I need to do this alone. He´s my responsibility."  
  
"Who´s injured? What´s going on? Scott? What´s Derek talking about?" Stiles babbled on, slipping away. "Where´s Isaac? Is Lydia okay? Where´s the girl? You have to save the girl." His stomach cramped and he felt the urge to throw up again. He pawed the air and found Derek´s face. _Oh._ The grumpy stubble-land splintered into a thousand pieces. Oh. Oh wow. The whole world blew apart into rainbow colors, swirling around and around, making scratchy sounds, hurting, hurting so badly. At the same time the last bit of light was bleeding away leaving a big black hole. Although it was cold he was floating on heat. He struggled against the flames burning into his skin. He wanted to be left alone. He fought the presence keeping him close. He kicked and whined until his body went limp, and the rich cold and scary blackness was biting harshly into his flesh. "Aaah...I wanna go home...please....haven´t I done good? Am I not magic?"  
  
"Shhh." Troubled eyes, green and soulful, were bearing down on him... _fire, fire, burning bright...in the forests of the night..._ Was he going nuts? Was he going dark? Was he going somewhere? All this and still not feeling whole. He whimpered.  
  
The floating stopped. He was put down. Where was he? What was happening? His body twitched in pain. "No." The sound of water running. Slippery, wet skin. "Cold."  
  
"Hold still. I´m almost done."  
  
Derek? Where am I? What is this? Are we naked? No. Can´t be. Hey. Was he shaking? Was he hurt? What had he done? Where is that draft coming from? "Cold."  
  
"Whose fault is that, huh? What idiot smashed the window?" Derek took a deep breath. "Seriously? What came over you?" Despite his harsh words he touched Stiles´s back gently, stroking up the spine. "Hold still." A rough but soft sensation prickled into his skin then, making him whine again, loud and desperate, like a little kid, wanting...wanting what he could never have. "Don´t leave me."  
  
"Never." Coziness. Softness. A trickle of water, moistening his lips. Thirsty! He sought the liquid greedily, licking up every tiny drop. The disgusting taste in his mouth. Rinsing. Spitting. Coughing. _Aw. Brightness._ "More."  
  
"Easy." The grip around his shoulders tightened.  
  
"No. Not easy." Wetness on his face. Oh. Did he spill some of the water? For god´s sake. Was he crying? Was he making this scenario a complete act of foolishness? "What´s happening to me? Am I dying? Are you giving me the bite?"  
  
"No. Stop fidgeting." The sparkling warmth turned away.  
  
"Don´t go. I need you. I don´t care you hate me...I...I..."  
  
A huff. "I´m not going anywhere."  
  
"Der-sourwolf-I need..."  
  
"Sleep."  
  
A glorious sensation touched his face and lips, cool and balmy. The spicy warmth came back, embracing him, and he floated again, up and up, enwrapped in a blanket made out of fleece. Is that fur? Is Derek a wolf? Am I sleeping with an animal? Okay. Kinky. Still. He was okay. He was safe now. He was protected by the Alpha. So for once he did what he was told. He slept.  
  
_Batman._  
  
He woke up. Darkness, though a different kind, warm and cozy and very _naked._ Jeez! His body twitched, though not in pain this time, and a solid smoldering mass moved against him. "Uh..."  
  
"Go back to sleep," Derek said, and was rocking him gently back and forth.  
  
He tried to argue but his lips were too dry to speak more than bits and pieces. "Thirsty."  
  
Derek rumbled. His warmth moved away and vanished.  
  
He whined.  
  
"Be still. I´m right here."  
  
Drops of cool wetted his lips and he licked them all off. "More."  
  
A snort.  
  
Anyway, more was given, but now the injury on his arm started to hurt. "Pain."  
  
"You never stop, huh?" Derek said, and then the prickling feeling in his open wound was back. For seconds Stiles hurt even more. "Ah..."  
  
"Relax. Everything´s fine."  
  
The miraculous sensation moved to his face. Sweetness. Tickling. Oh. What´s that? What´s he doing to me? He giggled. His cheek prickled intensely until there was no pain left. No pain at all. Exhausted he closed his eyes again and nuzzled his face against the stubbly comfort. "Thanks."  
  
"Don´t ever do this to me again."  
  
"´kay." A soft touch to his lips made him smile. "More."  
  
A strange noise. "Idiot. Why in the world you, huh?"  
  
"Sorry." He chuckled in spite of everything. A raw tiny sound that hurt deep down in his soul. _The words I said...I should...I must..._ Something was shoved under his cheek. "What´s that?"  
  
"Your pillow. I thought..."  
  
"I don´t want it. I want you..." He pawed for Derek´s body, clinging.  
  
"You´re ridiculous," Derek snorted. "A ridiculous, underage, goofy boy." Yet he went back to spooning Stiles, brushing the pillow aside. "You´re every wolf´s nightmare."  
  
"Yeah," Stiles agreed, and sticking to the hottest wolf that had ever howled he was drifting back into the coziness of oblivion. Once in a while the pain came back but was taken away over and over again. He merged with the nakedness of his guardian, inhaling his musky scent, until the unbearable heartache made him finally spill the things hurting, hurting too much to find peace. "I didn´t mean what I said. I don´t want you dead. Not dead. Not hurt. Never..."  
  
"Stop that," Derek ordered gruffly. "It´s fine."  
  
"No-I-" He held on to the overwhelming softness. "I´m sorry." He pressed his face into Derek´s armpit, sniffing, drowning in the wolf´s intoxicating scent. "I..."  
  
"Stop crying."  
  
"...can´t." Right. His tears were running wild, moistening Derek´s skin like a flow of sore regret.  
  
Gently Derek was cupping Stiles´s ear with his lips, licking into the shell. "Hey. I´m fine. I know you didn´t mean it. I know, okay?" He nuzzled along the tender rim, lingering at the most sensitive spots. "I know because I was there _that_ night watching you come, saying my name." He paused, breathing in Stiles´s scent. "Over and over again."  
  
"Oh god," Stiles groaned. He should have been embarrassed, or actually mad at Derek for being such a stalker, but instead he was touched by the confession. He could hear no mockery or glee in the Alpha´s voice, only...only...  
  
Derek kissed the tears off his cheeks. "I´ll make you say my name again." He brushed his lips over Stiles´s open mouth. "Many times. That´s a promise...," Derek kissed his fluttering eyelids, "...but for now I need you to rest."  
  
"I like naked you," Stiles confided, and rewarded himself by groping Derek´s ass. _Aw._  
  
"Can you do that?" Derek persisted, choking down a squeal.  
  
"Okay, Alpha bear," Stiles whimpered, enjoying the unique gamey flavor on his lips. _Hey, there, Big, Bad..._ "If you do the wolf again."  
  
"I can´t do that," Derek grumbled. "That was just your imagination."  
  
"Oh, yeah?" Stiles teased, gleeful, pinching the firm beauty quivering underneath his fingers.  
  
"Stop that!" Derek barked at him, yet he pulled Stiles closer and sealed his lips shut. A kiss way more serious than the light kisses before. A kiss that made his suffering fade away. A kiss to die for. _Oh, Derek._ Stiles savored the kiss which was a promise in every way, as well as the counterattack of rough hands roaming down his spine and over his ass. _Oh. Oh yeah. Derek, please. Keep doing that. I want you... you can do whatever you want... you can pin me down anytime..._ Is Derek´s skin starting to change? Is that fur rubbing against me? Is that a snout nuzzling at my neck? Maybe so. Doesn´t matter. He´s here - with me. That matters. Stiles stilled, and wallowing in Derek Hale´s glory, he was feeling good, no, _magic_ , and at that - _loved._  
  
Am I dying? Is this what death feels like? And what if? Do I care? Do I?


	7. Hide and Seek

  
_I'm not afraid of you._  
  
_Stiles, get out of there right now! Get out!_  
  
_Derek. Derek, come on, wake up._  
  
_Get out of the way._  
  
_I´m the one keeping you alive, okay, have you noticed that?_  
  
_Run!_  
  
_Hey! Batman._  
  
_Come on now. Time to wake up._ Brightness tickled his eyelids. He stirred. _Wake up. Wake up._ He blinked. Once. His eyelids felt as heavy as if a shitload of sand was resting on them. _Crap!_ His throat tasted sour. He longed for water but was enwrapped in a sensation too warm and comfortable to get up. So he didn´t open his eyes but rather squeezed them shut tighter, savoring the puff of air tickling his ear, and the arms holding him. A very naked him. But so was the hunky guy wound around him. _Um...._ He really, really wanted to take a look to remember the very moment in lonely times to come. He didn´t, though because a rumble buzzed through the beast keeping him close. Okay. The wolf was waking up. The peace was coming to an end. No. Not yet. Let me have this for a little while longer. Please. I never want to get up again. I never want to leave. His prayers were heard. He drifted off to sleep again.  
  
_Annoying spazz. I should give you a spanking._ The growled threat which should hurt or insult was rather strangely comforting, driving away the last of his concerns and fears. _Yeah. Maybe you should._  
  
The next time he woke up the heat around him was gone, and so was the intimacy. He was alone. He yawned and stretched. _Gah!_ His mouth felt like dry cotton, his lips a bit swollen. The light was dim but the place was all too familiar. He was at Derek´s. _My house, my rules._ He was in Derek´s bed, dressed in boxers and the same orange blue shirt he had found in it. The bed he had trashed. The bed he had shared with Derek. The bed that smelled like home. Why was he dressed anyway? He remembered being naked. He remembered touching. Oh, jeez, a whole lot of touching. He remembered Derek holding him. He remembered Derek licking him. He groaned. He also remembered clinging to Derek like a lovesick puppy. He noticed his favorite pillow lying innocently and dented here with him, the thing he had traded happily for Derek. The little stuffed wolf was resting on top, its glass eyes scowling. Oh God! How did that thing end up here? Did Derek find it in his bed at home? That was the worst. What must Derek think of him? What must everybody think of him? He tried to remember what else he had done to make a fool out of himself. The injury on his shoulder started itching and he barely held himself back from scratching. His face was itching, too. He touched his cheek, feeling smooth skin with only a bit of roughness. How was that even possible? The sensation of twigs hitting his face slashing the skin open was branded into his mind. And what about his whole body feeling moist as if he had bathed in oil? Holy fuck! What had happened? What had he done? Where was everybody? Scott? The pack? He sniffed. The whole place was drenched with a peculiar scent, even though he was not a werewolf, he could smell how soaked he was in that scent. He noticed that the broken window was covered up with makeshift cardboard. The shards underneath had vanished. Also gone were the books. The shelf was empty. Only the lamp had been put back in its usual place. Ah. Shit. Why had Derek kept him here? What was the best way to get out of here? What was going to happen when Derek came back?  
  
"Feeling better?"  
  
Stiles jumped and almost rolled out of bed. "Ouch!" Scott! "What the hell? Don´t do that!"  
  
"Sorry." Scott grinned, looking like he had just won the most important game of his life. "I thought you had rested enough."  
  
"Uh...what happened? Why am I here?"  
  
"Don´t you remember? You were hit by an arrow shot by Kali. Luckily just a flesh wound in the arm. Worse was that the arrow was spiked. You behaved and babbled like a lunatic for some time. Derek could barely hold you still while he carried you back to the house."  
  
"Oh God." Right. Fresh memories of images and spoken words washed over him. "Oh my God." _NoNoNo! I didn´t say those things, did I?_  
  
"Yeah. It was really kind of cute when he growled at everyone who tried to help him."  
  
"Funny." Scott sounded unfamiliarly gleeful, Stiles noticed, dumbfounded. "My dad?"  
  
"Thinks you spent the night at my house." A muscle in Scott´s cheek twitched. "He sounded a bit pissed though."  
  
_Ah. Crap._ "What about Boyd and Erica?"  
  
"They are downstairs. Sleeping it off."  
  
"How are they?"  
  
"Not too bad. They´ll heal. Two Betas of Kali´s pack have been killed. Two were running for their life." Scott sighed. "We won. Kali´s pack is done."  
  
"So everyone is okay?" He didn´t want to say his name. He didn´t dare to ask for him in particular. Sure, he knew he had been here during the night, but still... _I didn´t say that...and do that...and that...right? I didn´t touch him...there and there..._  
  
"Everyone is fine. Derek had a few arrows in his back, well, he pulled them out as soon as he had the time." Scott shook his head as if he couldn´t believe how crazy the Alpha was. "Whatever. You should have seen us. Allison. Isaac. Lydia. We were pack. Even Peter was at his best."  
  
Stiles cringed. "Don´t say that."  
  
"Peter is not that bad, dude. Lydia was perfectly safe with him. He´s also the one who found Boyd and Erica."  
  
"Yeah, yeah." Peter´s greatness was the last thing he wanted to hear about. "How´s Allison?" He shoved the shirt´s sleeve up, revealing a patch of red skin with a small hole in the middle.  
  
"She´s fine. Isaac brought her home."  
  
"Did he?" He didn´t dare to ask his best friend what that was doing to him. Scott wasn´t looking heartbroken but rather radiant. "My shoulder doesn´t look too bad."  
  
"Derek improved the healing process." Scott laughed. He was in an amazingly good mood considering the night´s events and his rivalry with Isaac.  
  
"What? Huh? What´s so damn funny?" _A strange feeling swept over him. Raw. Hot. Wet. Soothing in the weirdest way. A sensation he could barely label but he was missing already._  
  
"I don´t know. Why are you blushing?"  
  
"I´m not," he spluttered, pretty mad at his best friend for gloating over his misfortune.  
  
"Yes, you are." Scott didn´t stop grinning.  
  
"Thanks for being such an ass." He struggled out of the blanket. He had to get rid of _his_ scent. He had to be gone before he could embarrass himself even more. "Derek must be furious because of all the trouble I´ve caused."  
  
"Yeah, well, he was pretty much out of his mind but mostly because he feared you´d die. I even had to get your pillow to make you feel better." He nodded at the stuffed wolf. "I found something else."  
  
"Okay." Stiles got up. "I´m going home." _Right. There I will hide for the next century. Yeah. You wish!_  
  
Derek burst into the room like he had been eaves-dropping the whole time. "You´re not going anywhere." His glare was beyond any description.  
  
"Jeez! I´ll give you some privacy," Scott blurted and literally dashed away.  
  
_Traitor!_ "But...hey!" His stomach was feeling strange, like it was filled with buzzing fireflies.  
  
Derek grabbed him by the shoulders and put him back on the sheets, though gently. Next he threw the blanket over Stiles, pinning the edges under his legs and bottom.  
  
"Uh..." Stiles blinked and shrunk back from him. "I have to...my dad..." Derek was way too close for his fragile condition. How could Scott do this to him and just leave him at the Alpha´s mercy? "...and what about school?"  
  
"It´s Sunday." A smirk curled Derek´s lips. "Are you scared of me?"  
  
"´Course not. Never was." _Liar, liar, pants on fire._ Stiles dropped his gaze to Derek´s hands, smoothing the blanket out. Those hands which had softly petted his ass not that long ago. What would they feel like spanking him? _Oh God! Seriously. Don´t think stuff like that._  
  
"Right. I forgot. You just hate me."  
  
"I´m sorry," Stiles murmured before he lost his courage and changed his mind. His cheeks turned blazingly hot. He must still be feverish.  
  
Derek wriggled his eyebrows. "What for?"  
  
"Um... for running into the woods alone. For getting shot. For talking nonsense. Well. Just... _those_...uh...." He squirmed like a fish on the hook.  
  
"Nonsense, huh?" Derek said, sounding slightly irritated. "All of it?"  
  
"Yeah, sure." The odd prickling consuming his body last night was back and didn´t go away. "After all I was drugged."  
  
"Right," Derek huffed. "You don´t remember."  
  
"Not much..." _...just touching your butt..._ "...are you mad at me?"  
  
"Only for scaring me to death."  
  
"Oh. I thought..." He fisted the blanket. _Hey. I would prefer to fist something else. For god´s sake. Stop that!_  
  
"What? That I don´t care for you - the one boy who saved me more than once? That I´m not grateful?"  
  
"How could I know?" Stiles licked his lips. "You never showed me."  
  
Derek quirked an eyebrow. "Ah. The cub is sour because I didn´t thank him _sufficiently_."  
  
_Cub? Did he just call me a cub? Shouldn´t I be insulted?_ "Not at all. My life is pretty good without having your gratitude."  
  
"Is that right?" Derek leaned closer. "Why´s your heartbeat rising then? You know, there´s no value in lying to me. You already shared your innermost feelings."  
  
"What are you talking about?" Stiles mumbled into the blanket. He stuck to denying, though he remembered a lot if not everything. But right now he hadn´t much strength left to take on anyone, least of all the most irritating werewolf ever. Yeah. He was pretty much fucked.  
  
"You tell me, Alpha boy," Derek teased good-naturedly. "The name fits, you know."  
  
There was something in Derek´s bright, green eyes that made him feel sensational, a fondness that turned him mute. He couldn´t think of a thing to say. He couldn´t even breathe properly. He could only lean in for a - oh god, yes please -  
  
"Hey, Erica and Boyd want to say-" Scott stopped in his tracks. Erica and Boyd crashed into him. "Oooh. Damn it, McCall."  
  
Stiles and Derek jerked apart finding themselves caught by a trio of werewolves gaping at them.  
  
"Hey, Batman. Thanks for saving us," Erica cheered loudly to cover up the awkwardness.  
  
"I did nothing but embarrass myself." He pointed at his shoulder.  
  
"Nah. Derek told us how very brave you were," she confirmed graciously. She wore a shirt too big for her, probably borrowed from Derek, and her hair was a bit on the messy side, but she appeared fine otherwise.  
  
"Derek? Did you really?" Stiles was getting his hopes up. If the Alpha considered him brave...  
  
Derek didn´t give him the pleasure. Instead he bent down and snatched the little wolf off the pillow. "You don´t need that. You got the real thing." Then he strutted out like a fucking badass hero.  
  
Stiles startled but only because Boyd actually chuckled. He´d never seen that guy being amused about anything. Okay. Fine. He pulled the blanket up and pouted behind the covers. He should have known that Derek had never said such a thing as him being brave. "Where´s the little girl?"  
  
"What girl?" Boyd hugged Erica from behind, putting his head on her shoulder. "Are you still hallucinating, man?"  
  
"No. There was a girl. Approximately six years old. I didn´t imagine her," Stiles insisted. He remembered every little detail of her scared face. She had feared he´d kill her. "She must be one of Kali´s pack."  
  
"They held us prisoner for weeks. There was no kid around," Boyd disagreed, shaking his head. "Okay, though you´re kind of seeing things I have to say thanks and all. You are pretty cool for a white boy." Erica giggled about his choice of words.  
  
"Ah...yeah...that´s okay, bro," Stiles returned the tease. He glanced briefly at Boyd´s hands holding Erica. He counted ten fingers. How was that possible? "I´m glad you´re alive."  
  
Erica turned around smooching Boyd´s face. "I got mine, Batman. Now it´s your turn to get yours. Go for the-" Boyd pulled her outside. "Hey, I wasn´t finished yet," she squealed, struggling just a bit.  
  
"I think you were," Boyd replied and lifted her in his arms, carrying her away. "Derek asked us to let him rest."  
  
"Okay, Mr. Black Hunk," she said, smooching his neck. "Do with me as you wish."  
  
Scott winked at Stiles. "Erica and Boyd are a couple now."  
  
_Duh!_ "You think?" Oh. He didn´t want to sound so sour. That was Derek´s way.  
  
"Everything good between you and Derek?"  
  
"Sure. Never better."  
  
"Don´t lie to me."  
  
"I hate those werewolf senses."  
  
"No, you don´t."  
  
"Oh, shut up. What about you and Allison, huh?" he turned the tables. "Everything good?"  
  
"Yeah." Scott grinned like an idiot. "Couldn´t be better. That´s why I have to go now. Stay safe in the wolf´s den, Alpha Boy," Scott said, tongue in cheek.  
  
"Ha-Ha! Funny!" He obeyed, and remained in Derek´s bed, sometimes fumbling with his cell, checking for messages, but mostly he rested because his head was still hurting. He couldn´t sleep, though no matter how exhausted he was. Sometimes he heard someone whispering downstairs. A low mumble of different voices but he was certain Derek´s wasn´t among them. Yeah. Actually he waited for Derek to show his grumpy face again and order him around some more or whatever the wolf wanted to do with him. Stiles wasn´t picky. He just wanted to see him. But no. The Alpha didn´t grant him the pleasure of more of his presence. Well. Now that Kali´s pack was beaten Derek certainly had much more important stuff on his hands than cuddling a human. He sighed into his pillow, even drooled a little bit on it. He´d prefer to drool on someone else. Yeah. Pathetic. He was in no way Batman. Oh shit!  
  
Rae! Her name was Rae. He remembered now. He hadn´t imagined her. She was real. The poisoned arrow had hit him after he had met her. Right. He had to find her. He had to know what happened to her. She couldn´t survive all alone in the woods. He couldn´t leave her behind. Her pack was not able to help her now. He needed to do something. Right. He got over himself and threw the blanket off. He wouldn´t wait any longer for Derek. No. Enough was enough. Hastily he got dressed. Well. He had his pants. Huh? What´s that? There was a crumpled piece of paper inside the right pocket. A note. No signature. _Careful with the stolen goods_ he read in awe. What the hell, Deaton? How are you doing this? What´s your secret? Shaking he hunted for his favored target shirt, the one his dad had fixed just yesterday. The thing was nowhere to be found. Sorry, dad. He needed to keep on the shirt Derek had hidden in his bed. So what? It was his shirt anyway. He snatched his pillow and sneaked downstairs, finding only empty silence. Oh, and there were three arrows leaning against the wall like some keepsake as well as his forsaken baseball bat. God. He was so lucky to be alive. He should try to find Derek and... yeah, what? He snatched his bat and moved forward. First he had to find the girl. A silky voice coming from the porch made him stop in his tracks. Peter _the fuck_ Hale.  
  
"He has to know. You have to tell him. Derek, come on. Why not? He´ll understand. He´s yours anyway, no matter what-"  
  
"I don´t want your opinion in that matter," Derek grunted. "How dare you?"  
  
"Can you finally let go of that? I´ve never wanted for that to happen. I liked Paige. I´ve never meant to cause her any harm...."  
  
No. He couldn´t face either of them. Not right now. Not being so vulnerable. He turned and sneaked out the back door, seeing his Jeep still parked where he had left it yesterday.  
  
Unfortunately Isaac was standing guard.  
  
"I´m...uh...leaving."  
  
"I can see that," Isaac said, not amused.  
  
"Bite me!" _Oops! Not a clever choice of words._ He stumbled from the porch, almost falling down. God. Could he be any clumsier?  
  
"Sorry, not my type," Isaac replied with a smidge of amusement.  
  
_Asshole!_ "Stay away from Allison."  
  
"Why should I? I like her, and she figured out that werewolves are the best choice she can make. Don´t you agree?"  
  
"None of your fucking business." Stiles hobbled to his Jeep, which was stupid, because his legs weren´t injured. He licked his lips which tasted like Derek, which was even more stupid. How should he know how Derek tasted? And this stupid shirt was soaked in that scent he couldn´t identify, damn.  
  
"Do you really think you can just ran away? Hide? Do you think it´s that easy?"  
  
"Shut your hole!" Stiles spat. He flung himself into the driver´s seat and started the car. He needed to get away from here. He needed to find a lost little kid, who was not the enemy. He needed to save her.  
  
"Derek won´t let you-"  
  
He speeded away and caught a glimpse of Derek and Peter standing on the porch, though he couldn´t make out Derek´s face. Was he surprised by his flight? Would he be angry? Or worse. Disappointed? Oh, come on. Don´t you dare to think that Derek and you are a thing now. Don´t you dare start picturing a life with you and him being together. Fuck. But he was picturing it. He was picturing a whole lot of silliness.  
  
He drove to a place where he could park his car unnoticed. The sun had already set. He had to hurry. He fetched a flashlight from the compartment on the passenger´s side and rushed to the pond. At his arrival he was panting madly. The poison must have weakened him more than he thought. Pressing a hand to his twinging side, he searched the nearby area. Somewhere there had to be a hidden cave. Kali ordered the girl to go there. Finally he discovered a small entry at the rear of the overgrown mound. "Rae," he whispered, kneeling down. This was no cave but a hole. "Are you in there?" He didn´t dare to shout. He didn´t want to scare her any more. "Hey, kiddo? It´s me. Batman." He crawled forward, switching his flashlight on. "I´m coming in, okay?" The small tunnel stank of sweat and fear. "Come on. Talk to me." He waited. Nothing. "Please, kiddo. I´m not gonna hurt you. I wanna help you. I´m a friend."  
  
"S-Samual?" A broken whisper.  
  
"Sorry. No," he sighed. "I´m Stiles." _Alive. Thank god, she´s alive._ "I´ll get you to Samual, okay?" The answer was far from comforting. Sniffing sounds. She was crying. "I want Samual."  
  
_Oh, man._ "I know, sweetie. I know. You´ll be with him soon. Promise." He reached out to her. "Take my hand. You can do it." After what felt like an eternity a small figure crawled towards him, sniffing loudly. "It´s okay, sweetie. You´re almost there." He got hold of one of her hands. She was ice-cold. _Shit!_ "Come on now. We have to get you somewhere warm." He was angry with himself for not bringing a blanket. Gently he pulled her out of the earthy tunnel, dragging plenty of leaves and twigs along. "There you are." He patted her trembling back and lifted her on his arms. Uh. She was pretty heavy. The muscles in his back whined. _Shut up._  
  
"I want my wolf," the girl mumbled against his neck.  
  
_Me, too._ "All in good time," he soothed her, feeling her cold little fingers moving over his skin. _God help me._ He needed to hurry. He started walking, mumbling flowery phrases like "Everything is gonna be alright" and "Keep your head up". _Yeah, sure._  
  
"Sing me a song," Rae pleaded, hoarse.  
  
"What?"  
  
"Elias always sings."  
  
_Don´t I know that?_ "I..." _can´t_ he wanted to say, but feeling the small body shaking in his arms he couldn´t deny her petty wish. He cleared his throat. "Uh...well...okay. Don´t expect too much, though. Okay, here we go." He hummed to find the tune.  
  
_"Look for the bare necessities_  
_The simple bare necessities_  
_Forget about your worries and your strife_  
_I mean the bare necessities_  
_Old Mother Nature's recipes_  
_That brings the bare necessities of life."_  
  
The girl´s breathing softened, the shaking diminished. "I like Balu. He´s nice."  
  
"Yeah, sweetie." Batman. Balu. Whatever makes you feel better. He kept singing until they reached the Jeep. His heart was pumping like mad by then and the barely healed injury in his arm started itching again, but fortunately Rae had fallen asleep. He put her in the passenger´s seat and buckled her up. As fast as possible he drove to the animal clinic. Deaton was the only one to go to, no matter how the meeting with his mentor would turn out after his betrayal. Deaton was the man that could help a girl belonging to a wolf pack. He couldn´t go to a hospital. He didn´t know what they would do with Rae after taking care of her. He didn´t want her taken away from her family.  
  
He found the clinic rooms gloomy and obviously unattended. "Dr. Deaton?" Alert he walked around, keeping Rae close. She was still asleep but her eyelashes were fluttering as if she was having a bad dream. Well. The sight of two covered up bodies on the operating table made him flinch. Who were they? Elias? Kali? The bad dream just turned very real. Stiles didn´t want to know who died, though they once were the enemy. He rushed on to the room behind the operating room. The recovery room. There he found Kali and Elias lying on two camp beds, sleeping. The sight of their entwined fingers made him feel ridiculously jealous. Stiles stared at the beaten couple. Kali´s nails were short and edgeless, feet and hands. She looked surprisingly vulnerable and much too young to be in the slightest vicious. She looked utterly drained. Elias appeared worse, like dead even, though he was breathing. _Don´t you dare to pity them. They tried to kill you, for god´s sake._ And then he noticed that the bracelet was back around Kali´s ankle. _What the actual fuck?_  
  
Rae stirred on his arms. "Samual?" She started fighting his grip.  
  
Kali opened her eyes. They were as golden as Elias´, though a darker shade.  
  
Stiles stumbled backwards, feeling the tip of claws grabbing at his spine. _Ah. Crap! Backlash!_


	8. Thy Wounds Shall Heal

  
Stiles spun around, ready to dazzle whoever dared to attack him. After all - he was magic, right? _Oh God, help me._  
  
"There you are." Peter grinned, eyes shining a striking bright blue.  
  
 _Batman meets Joker._ "Stay away from us." He hugged the girl to his chest. "Okay. Okay. We´re okay." He could feel she was burning up because of a fever. _No, we´re not._  
  
"S-Samual." Rae arched her back, choking the name out like a prayer.  
  
"We´ll find him, okay?" he soothed her, staggering due to her weight and his exhaustion. He wouldn´t surrender her to Peter without a fight, though.  
  
"Easy," Peter snarled, but put his claws away. "I´m not here to hurt you."  
  
 _Yeah, right!_ He glared at Peter, then took a step back. Flight was the only option. He couldn´t run yet, the burden of the girl had slipped down. _What?_ Startled he looked at her. She had gone very still, almost like she was dead. _Oh my God! You are, aren´t you? You´re not breathing. Oh, no, no, no._ "Shit!" He almost dropped her in shock.  
  
Peter hurried to his side, and helped him carry the dead weight.  
  
"Do not touch her," Kali croaked and dragged herself up.  
  
"Stay back," Peter spat, showing a bit of teeth. "We´re only trying to help."  
  
 _We? What are you talking about? There is no we._ "Rae! Come on!" He was slightly shaking her which didn´t get him a flinch or a sound. "She´s not breathing," he finally disclosed. A cold hand gripped his heart, squeezing tight.  
  
"RAE!" Kali howled, and jumped forward.  
  
"Give her to me," Peter barked. "I know what to do."  
  
"YOU DO NOT TOUCH HER!" Kali stumbled towards them. Her eyes were filled with tears, and she was shaking all over yet she raised her arms coming at Peter.  
  
"He won´t," Stiles promised. "I´ll do it." Given that the operating table was crowded he put Rae on the ground. Next he adjusted her head like he had learned in first aid class. "I´ll help her." He locked eyes with the out of her mind werewolf. _Out of her mind mom, I guess._  
  
Kali stopped, and nodded briskly. Staggering she gripped at the metal storage rack to keep herself from falling down.  
  
"Okay. Here we go." Stiles bent over Rae and checked if her throat was clear. "Okay. Alright. I see nothing." He covered Rae´s mouth with one hand, and then blew air into her nose, which was the easier way with little children. Once. Twice. "Come on." Thrice. He gulped and took a breath himself. No! No panic attack. Not now. "Come on, Rae. I need you to fight." He continued breathing life into her. My God! How many times already? How long since she wasn´t breathing by herself? How long could he do this without breaking down? Come on. Breathe! Sweat dripped from his forehead into his eyes and his knees were hurting due to the extreme pressure he put on them. His eyes flickered briefly to the bodies beneath the blankets. _Don´t. Don´t do that. Just don´t._ He blinked rapidly. "Ah, god. I-" He swallowed a mouthful of air and bent over her tight little face again. He wouldn´t let that girl die. Not after he had found her. She wasn´t the one to suffer for all this-  
  
"Stop," Peter hissed, grabbing his arm. "I heard a murmur."  
  
Stiles froze in motion. There. Peter was right. He could feel a puff of air on his lips. He noticed the small chest slightly rising up and down. Rae breathed by herself again, a smell like rotten blackberries. He almost fainted. _Whatever! Thank you, God. Thank you, thank you, thank you._ He pulled back and looked at Peter. "Now what?" Rae was alive, yes, but her condition was still serious because of her severe chill.  
  
"Hold her." Peter put his hand on Rae´s trembling arm, squeezing tight.  
  
Kali growled and took one step forward. The rack wobbled.  
  
"You want her healthy again?" Peter addressed her calmly. "You know how this works."  
  
Kali stopped. Teardrops were falling from her eyes dripping to the ground. "Just don´t hurt her."  
  
"I won´t. I´m not a monster." Peter held on to Rae, groaning like he was in pain. The girl arched up, gasping. Peter was shifting, his eyes were burning bright, and then black fluids were flooding into his veins, pumping up his arm and...  
  
Ugh. Okay. Stiles wasn´t sure what he witnessed, considering the incident lasted only thirty seconds. The important thing was that Rae immediately looked and sounded much better as if a shadow had been lifted from her soul and taken away.  
  
Peter on the other hand looked sick when he let go of Rae. Quickly he turned the girl over to her mother.  
  
"My baby. My sweetheart." Kali embraced Rae, weeping. "I thought I´d lost you."  
  
"Mommy," the girl murmured. "I want Samual. Where is he?"  
  
"Oh god," Kali said, and more tears were falling, sprinkling her daughter´s face. "Please, be still. You need to rest."  
  
"I want my wolf," Rae staked her claims.  
  
"Rae..." her mom said, sounding helpless. She put her child on the second camp bed, caressing her cheek.  
  
"Here you go." Peter fished something from his pants. The stuffed wolf. He put the toy in the girl´s arms. "Derek wanted you to have it back."  
  
Grateful Rae snatched her favorite toy and hid her face in its fluffiness. Kali eyed Peter warily.  
  
"Derek overheard you asking about the kid," Peter explained to Stiles. "He believed you. He knew what you were up to."  
  
Did he? Stiles couldn´t handle thinking about Derek right now. He was pretty much done. "Where´s Samual?" he murmured, making sure Rae couldn´t hear him. Though he already knew he couldn´t bear the truth. He couldn´t bear the pain caused by their actions.  
  
"Dead." Peter´s face turned gloomy.  
  
"How do you know?"  
  
"I killed him."  
  
"Right." Stiles wanted to turn around and run away. He wanted to leave all this misery behind. He wanted...oh god... he´d wanted things so very different...than _this_.  
  
"That you take his death to heart speaks in your favor, Mr. Stilinski." Deaton came out of the supply room.  
  
Stiles wasn´t even surprised anymore how the guy always just popped up. "Does it?"  
  
"I see your injuries healed well."  
  
Stiles touched his face. He hadn´t considered looking in a mirror before leaving the Hale house. Well. He didn´t think that Derek even owned one. His skin felt pretty smooth, just the tiniest roughness disturbed his searching fingers. "Lucky for my beauty."  
  
"Luck has nothing to do with it," Deaton disagreed. "Rather the fact that you were chosen."  
  
What are you saying, man? Don´t talk in riddles. I think I´m done with riddles for a long time.  
  
"Let me show you something." Deaton pointed at the covered up bodies.  
  
No. Please. I don´t want to see the dead. I don´t want to see the misery I´ve caused.  
  
Deaton didn´t wait for any agreement, though. He walked over and uncovered the first body. One of the Betas whose name they´d never learned. In death he looked like an everyman walking the streets of Beacon Hills. Deaton uncovered the second body. Samual. Stripped down to his boxers.  
  
"Take a good look and then keep talking about beauty or having any luck," Deaton said. The boy named Samual, who would be missed terribly by a little girl named Rae, was covered in scars. Mutilated in the worst ways.  
  
Stiles choked at the horrible sight. "How? He was a werewolf."  
  
"Not a born werewolf."  
  
"Neither is Elias. So how did he survive?"  
  
"Kali was able to save him because he was still alive when he was brought here, though she had to give up her Alpha powers to achieve such a miracle. The price was her falling back to being a Beta."  
  
"I didn´t know an Alpha is able to do that."  
  
"Every Alpha is, but it´s dangerous. Kali could have died. I helped her through the process. I did it once before. That Alpha wasn´t so lucky. She died. The Beta she saved survived but he was changed forever." Deaton paused. "Not in a good way."  
  
"She must truly love him. She can´t be all bad." Isn´t she? What makes you so sure? You were wrong before. "How the fuck are her eyes not blue? She killed her own father."  
  
"A man who raped her since she reached the age of twelve. A man who offered her to various Alphas as a gift to make better deals for his own pack. A man who tried to kill her child."  
  
Stiles didn´t know what to feel. Kali was the enemy. The bitch who tried to kill him. The evil one who had kept Boyd and Erica imprisoned. But what he had just learnt meant Kali had gone through hell and still she kept going. He couldn´t feel empathy for her, right? Not ever. "Peter cannot be trusted," he said to avoid a statement and rather deal with matters he could grasp.  
  
"No," Deaton agreed. "But he cares for Derek. He´d never let something happen to him. He´s protected him since Derek was born. I´d claim that Peter even loves Derek if Peter were able to love at all." Deaton covered the two bodies up again. Their suffering was over. He and Stiles went back to the other room.  
  
Holding on to Elias´s hand in desperation Kali comforted her little girl. In spite of Peter having vanished into thin air the former Alpha eyed him and Deaton suspiciously.  
  
"Those two are maybe lost and have done more than wrong but they´re not evil," Deaton said, not in the slightest affected by her distrust.  
  
Elias didn´t move a muscle. He was sound asleep. Hugging her favorite toy Rae had fallen asleep, too.  
  
"Rae must be the one who broke the mountain ash circle," Stiles realized. "Who´s the father? Don´t tell me Elias, for god´s sake."  
  
"Unlikely." Deaton covered Kali and Rae with a blanket. "Her father I assume. Kali killed him because he tried to get rid of Rae."  
  
"Not because she´s human, right?"  
  
"I think rather because of the crime he had committed against his own daughter. Kali´s eyes are proof enough that she has never killed an innocent. I can´t say that about your Alpha."  
  
 _Oh shit, yeah. He still hasn´t dared to ask Derek why his eyes were blue before he turned into an Alpha._ "What does Derek intend to do with them?"  
  
"He hasn´t said yet. He certainly pities them for their fate." Deaton eyed him closely. "What do you think? What should we do with them?"  
  
"That´s not my decision to make."  
  
"I think it should be."  
  
"Who cut Kali´s nails?"  
  
"She did that herself. As penance."  
  
"Okay. But why is she wearing the bracelet? You think that´s wise?"  
  
"That thing didn´t hold any power. Kali clings to it because her dead mother once gave it to her."  
  
"What? But how...I can´t...no way..." Stiles flailed his arms. _Holy moly!_ That meant that he...no...that was impossible.  
  
"It was always you, Mr. Stilinski. You and the spark." Deaton pointed at Kali and Elias. "Like it is them. The power comes from ourselves. There is no greater magic."  
  
"I´m not ready to...." Stiles didn´t want to disappoint the man. "Sorry."  
  
"I think you are. You and we all just need time to recover." Deaton switched the light off.  
  
"You were right," Stiles whispered, humbled by his kindness and understanding. "There is always more than one side to a story." He realized something surprising. He didn´t hate them anymore. That didn´t mean he liked them or that everything they had done was forgiven but maybe... just maybe... he would be able to even tackle that one day.  
  
"Certainly." Deaton looked at him curiously. "Do you intend to continue your training now that you´ve got a grip on mountain ash?"  
  
"Sure," he agreed, relieved that they didn´t discuss his doubts any further.  
  
"Good. First of all you will work off the cost of the mountain ash you have stolen from my personal supply."  
  
"Uh...right. Sorry for that," he spluttered, pinched. "I´ll do everything to make it up to you." Oh, look at that. Deaton had a wicked smile. Who would have guessed?  
  
"I am certain you will, Mr. Stilinski." His expression turned serious again. "I recognized your potential since you´d started looking out for Derek."  
  
"Uhu..." No. He was not going to say something about that. Not today. He was done for today. He had enough things troubling him without solving the mystery of Alan _Yoda_ Deaton. Nope. He wouldn´t argue that he´d never looked out for Derek in any way. That all he´d done was caused by coincidence not affection. Right. Enough was enough.  
  
He went home, knowing that the worst was still not over. Right. As expected the reunion with his dad wasn´t a happy one. His dad glared at his appearance. "Earth and leaves. Were you running through the woods again? Was Scott around, too, or were you on your own?"  
  
"Scott was around, dad. That´s the..."  
  
"I don´t wanna hear a word about it," his dad cut him off. "Go to your room and sleep it off. I have to go to work." He pointed at the shirt Stiles was wearing, frowning with puzzlement. "And what about that thing? Seriously? I thought you´d thrown that away a long time ago."  
  
 _Yeah. Me, too._ He bent his head to hide the blush creeping over his face. "Sorry." He shuffled up the stairs. Well. He should be glad that his adventure was over. He could have died. He should be glad that he could throw the dratted shirt into the washing machine, getting rid of everything reminding him of Derek. He should be glad that Derek didn´t come here looking for him. Yeah. Well. He was not. He couldn´t stop thinking about Derek. As much as he wanted to forget the whole freaking incident he couldn´t. Neither Derek´s soothing words nor the soft touches, and least of all the sweet, wet kisses haunting him in his dreams. God! The first restless night went by, his favorite pillow had no effect at all, and by the next morning he was soaked in his own come. Christ! He was a whole lot of pathetic. That had nothing to do with him sneaking out of the house, though. He just couldn´t face his dad right now. He could barely face himself.  
  
In class he was so still that even Mr. Harris approached him afterwards. "Is something wrong, Mr. Stilinski?"  
  
"Uh...no...w-why´re you asking?" That man´s concern was disturbing the crap out of him.  
  
"You were unusually quiet today," his teacher said, a man who mostly treated him badly and hated the pure sight of him.  
  
"Yeah, well," Stiles mocked, "isn´t that what you always wished for?" He didn´t wait for a response but walked away. He didn´t want to reply to any more questions or attract any more attention.  
  
During break he sat with his friends, of course. Lydia looked stunning as if she was glowing from the inside. He could only guess what the reason was. Allison sat between Scott and Isaac, and all three of them looked pretty cozy around each other. They didn´t talk much because of the gloomy events. Nobody mentioned Derek. Yeah. He should be glad they didn´t. Guess what? He was not. He was bursting to talk about Derek, talk about the wolfman for hours. Certainly he wouldn´t be the one starting on the topic. Right. Stop it, you idiot. Stop it now.  
  
Lacrosse training was equally bad. He couldn´t even find the right footing. The coach was raging at him. _Duh!_ Scott and Isaac sucked as well. They were distracted by staring at each other. _Oh, man._ Hey. He never thought he´d ever consider wishing for a guy like Elias to come back to the team if only for his amazing skills. Okay. Fine. School sucked. The whole fucking day sucked. In the afternoon he went back to the animal clinic to check on Rae.  
  
At his arrival he found Elias with his eyes open humming to Rae, who was clinging  
to both him and the wolf in her arms. Kali was looming over the dead body of Samual, crying soundlessly. Off and on she caressed the dead wolf´s dark skin. Feeling like the odd man out Stiles roamed through the rooms looking for Deaton. Instead he spotted an open notebook, resting on the table. His name was in it. _Stilinski. Apprentice,_ he mouthed. _Brave. Talented. A lot of spirit. Faithless. Rash. Disrespectful. First task: Mountain ash. Mastered. Second task: Wolf´s Bane. Planned. One day he might be able to-_ Oh My God! His mouth dropped open, and as he fumbled with the notebook in shock, a piece of paper stuck out from the pages. A picture. Stiles couldn´t resist taking a look. A woman. Oh? Was this-  
  
"Tsk, tsk, tsk. Such a snoop."  
  
Stiles jerked around, scowling. He recognized that voice all too well by now. "What do you want?"  
  
"What do _I_ want?" Hands behind his back Peter was bouncing on his feet. "What do you want, boy? Do you expect Derek to crawl to you? Didn´t he get wounded badly enough watching over you? Wasn´t that hole in his chest enough proof of what you mean to him? Was I wrong about you? Are you a coward after all? Do I need to drag you there?"  
  
"Leave me alone, creep," he mewled, tucking the picture back into the book. Furious he walked away from Peter. He knew he was behaving childishly. He knew that the freak was right. He was a coward. He didn´t dare to claim the man who was apparently already his. He didn´t dare to take a risk. How had he even managed to confront Kali in the woods? What was he thinking back then? Why was he holding back? What was he waiting for?  
  
Peter didn´t let him escape. "I don´t know why you´re still running. You smell so much like Derek it´s disgusting. You´re supposed to be with him. I know you want him. So, what´s the problem?"  
  
"None of your fucking business," he snapped. A second later he covered his mouth thinking of Rae.  
  
"He´s right, you know," Kali said, covering up Samual´s body. "You can´t run from what is meant to be."  
  
"Isn´t that the reason why Samual had to die?" Stiles replied, his affliction heightened due to her interference "Because you turned him?"  
  
"No. That was only the final nail in the coffin. He has scars you never want to see. He suffered all his life." Once more she was shaking. "One day my father actually beat him to death. I saved him by giving him the bite." Fresh tears were streaming down her face. "My baby brother." She turned away from the one she couldn´t save. "He died protecting Rae. He thought your blue-eyed Beta would find and kill her. He thought he could take him. He was wrong."  
  
Stiles stood frozen and mute. There was nothing to say. He clenched his fists until his fingers hurt. He didn´t even glance at Peter. He wondered if Peter´s strength came from being dead and reborn.  
  
"So was I," Peter said in a gentle tone Stiles had never heard him use before. "He was brave. He fought like hell to protect the child from being found. All I can offer you is that I killed him quickly. He didn´t suffer."  
  
Kali didn´t absolve him of his guilt but she wiped away her tears and sobered up. Then she walked over to Elias and Rae. The Beta had stopped humming. The girl had fallen asleep again. Kali sat down on the bed´s edge. Elias grabbed her hand, rubbing his thumb over her skin. Kali sighed and leaned into him.  
  
"Why do even care about me and Derek?" Stiles grumbled at Peter, remembering Deaton´s statement. "Since when do you care about anyone other than yourself?" Not that he believed a word of it.  
  
Peter stopped bouncing. "I want Derek to be happy. He deserves to be happy. He hasn´t been happy in a long time." He cleared his throat which was the most awkward sound Stiles had ever heard the rogue werewolf make. "I´m trying to make amends."  
  
"He just told us your Alpha asked us to join the pack," Kali chipped in, sounding alert despite her sorrow. "You think we should do it? You think I can trust him?" She paused, slightly shifting. "Stiles?"  
  
"Sure, you can," Stiles blurted, baffled that she addressed him by his given name. _Really, Derek? That´s your plan? That´s the course you´ve chosen?_ That Kali was asking him for advice was even more surprising. "Derek would never betray you." He ignored Peter´s smirk. He ignored his heartbeat speeding up. _If the creepy uncle deserves a second chance... well, why not? Instead of blood and death there is going to be hope and peace. Why the hell not?_  
  
"I think you´re right. He´s not keen on violence. He respects humans. He doesn´t make rash decisions. He takes care of his pack." She bent down and kissed Elias on the forehead. "He listens to his mate."  
  
 _Huh?_ "He´s traumatized like you," Stiles added generously. "Derek understands pain."  
  
"Unlike my father. May he rot in hell."  
  
"So, what´re you going to do?"  
  
"I can´t say yet. Elias and I need to talk about it first."  
  
"Sure. Got it." He reached out to Kali. "Let´s start again. What d´you say?"  
  
For an eternity she looked at his hand like it was a biting snake.  
  
"Uh..." Stiles thought he had made the biggest mistake of all.  
  
"I misjudged you." Firmly she shook his hand. "You are an Alpha. The human kind."  
  
"Thanks," Stiles said, strangely touched. "I was wrong about you, too. You're not a bitch, but you're some woman. A survivor."  
  
"Yeah, yet I couldn´t save Samual." Her shoulders slumped, and she nuzzled her face into Elias´s neck to find some comfort.  
  
"Well done, Mr. Stilinski," Deaton said, standing right beside him. "You´ll be good at this."  
  
 _Oops. Hey._ That guy was like a ghost. Once again Stiles didn´t see him coming in.  
  
"Talia would be proud about her son´s choice."  
  
"I´m not so sure," Peter disagreed smugly. "She never liked cowards."  
  
Oh. That stung. Yeah. He hung his head. The worst was that Peter was right.  
  
"Why do you think I came back here today?" Peter´s tone turned gentle again. "The Alpha sent me to look out for his boy."  
  
"I know." Yes. He knew. He just didn´t know how to handle Derek. He didn´t know if he was ready for such a guy. A werewolf, for god´s sake. An Alpha at that. "I´m sorry. Tell him I need more time."  
  
"Well, considering how long he´s already waited for you that´s the least of his problems."  
  
"Whatever," Stiles huffed and walked out. Surprisingly Deaton went along. What now? Some new lecture?  
  
"I never told anyone this, Mr. Stilinski, but becoming Talia´s Emissary was the most important decision of my life. Talia cared for me and she always respected my advice, and the day she died my heart was broken and it will never mend. But I wasn´t her mate. Derek´s father was. Still I never regretted my choice or one second at her side."  
  
"Why are you telling me this?" He climbed into his Jeep.  
  
"Because I know what bothers you."  
  
"Yeah, well, I´m not his mate either." He started the car, glad to have something to do to keep his hands busy. "I´m human like you."  
  
"The point is that Talia never kissed me, nor did she hold me in her arms the whole night licking my wounds."  
  
"How the hell do you know about that?" Once again Stiles was in awe of his mentor.  
  
"I have my sources," Deaton deadpanned. He got hold of Stiles´s left hand and put a vial in its palm. "Wolf´s Bane. I want you to get used to it. Start slowly. Only a sniff a day."  
  
"Ugh..." Okay. Fine. Stiles put the vial into the dashboard compartment. He meant to perform his mentor´s task but not right now. He couldn´t concentrate on anything at the moment.  
  
Deaton stepped back. "Have a safe drive home."  
  
"Yeah. See ya." Clumsily he shifted gears. The Jeep jerked forward, making a complaining noise due to the unusually harsh treatment. Crap! Stiles caressed the wheel to apologize. So? Doesn´t he want more from life than driving on the safe side? Isn´t he ready to lose his way if just for a little bit? Doesn´t he want another bite of the sweets? _What big teeth you have?_ He shuddered with excitement. Holy mother of God! He knew _who_ he wanted to taste and eat alive.  
  
In the days to come he dialed Derek´s number a few times and then he hung up at the last second. Once or twice he got a glimpse of a Camaro driving by his house. That could have been an illusion, or worse, wishful thinking. Yes, he wanted Derek to seek him out and at the same time he feared the wolf´s appearance. He just didn´t feel ready to be an Alpha´s mate for god´s sake. Frustrated about not making a move he ate a lot of Reeses´s candy bars, as if plenty of sugar would do any good.  
  
School didn´t go any better. Isaac, the ass, was teasing him constantly. Now and then Scott rowed with him over his behavior, yeah, and Isaac liked it way too much. The growls he gave Scott in return were of the X-rated sort. Scott was visibly turned on. So was Allison. Oh, yeah, school was hell.  
  
On Friday Stiles took a time out and went to the cemetery visiting his mom´s grave. He brought her a sunflower which had been her favorite. For a few minutes he just stood there gazing at the gravestone in silence but then he started talking. He told her everything that had happened over the last days. Crap! He just realized it had been only a few days since his life had turned upside down. "I saved a girl´s life, you know," he finished, and hung his head. "I wish I could have saved you." He sighed heartily. "I wish you could be here to give me some advice." Though she wasn´t here anymore talking to her always gave him comfort. "I was lucky, you know, having a mom like you, though only for a few years." Maybe his loss was minor compared to the tragedy Kali and Samual had suffered, but everyone had to carry the burden of his own loss, right? "I love you, mom." He blew her a kiss and went home.  
  
In the evening he was feeling close to bursting into flames. No surprise due to having barely slept in days. Stupid pillow. Stupid wolf. Yeah, right. Desperate, he was leaning against his window yearning for the stars. _Go. Go. Go to him._ The waning moon was ascending the sky, mocking him for being a wuss. Man! He kicked his bat resting in the corner. He would have kicked himself if he´d able to do such a stupid thing. He was beyond ready to go and... Okay. Come on! Let´s go!  
  
"Stiles?" His dad walked in. "What about us having dinner tonight? I think we should talk, don´t you?"  
  
 _What? Now?_ Stiles bit his lip. For the whole week he and his dad had barely seen each other. Well. He could understand why his dad was mad at him. He was definitely grateful that his dad didn´t know what had really happened. Yeah. A small consolation in all this mess. "I don´t know, dad. I´m not in the mood."  
  
"Come on, son. I found a great new place in the loft of a tall building. They even serve curly fries."  
  
"Fine. Why not." He sighed. "I have nothing better to do anyway."  
  
"Thanks for the overwhelming joy at sharing some time with your old man," the sheriff commented dryly.  
  
"Sorry, dad." He just remembered the fixed shirt. The shirt he had lost in battle. He was ungrateful. "I promise to behave." He slipped into his red hoodie.  
  
"Careful with the promises," his dad murmured, a strange expression crossing his face.  
  
"What?"  
  
"You´ll see."  
  
Stiles was too self-involved to notice where they were going until his dad stopped the car. The building in front of them appeared abandoned, spooky even. "Are you sure we´ll get something to eat up there?" he said, frowning. "It looks a bit creepy."  
  
"Pretty sure." His dad fetched a package from the backseat.  
  
"What´s that?"  
  
"A present for the host."  
  
Stiles was perplexed but he only just figured that his dad had tricked him shamelessly when his best friend opened the sliding door to the loft. "Hey. I´m glad you could make it."  
  
"What the hell? Dad!"  
  
"Sorry, son. I couldn´t bear to see you sulk anymore."  
  
Stiles spotted Allison and Isaac huddled against each other on a comfy sofa. "What is this? What are you up to?"  
  
"We´re having a party," Scott explained, cheerful. "We can´t celebrate without the guest of honor." He was glowing like the happiest wolf that had ever been bitten.  
  
"Why here? What is this place?" Stiles snapped. Yeah, frustration was a bitch.  
  
"It´s Derek´s new home. You didn´t think he would live in that burnt down house forever, did you?"  
  
Honestly? He kind of did. The house added perfectly to Derek´s mysterious flavor.  
  
"Okay, time for me to go." His dad put the package into his arms. "Be a good son and come home at least for breakfast tomorrow."  
  
"Dad!" Stiles stared at him, clueless. What had he been thinking to bring him here? What did he know? What...? "I don´t understand."  
  
"I´m not stupid, boy. Do you think you can stay away the whole weekend and then come home looking like you had made out with a scrubbing brush and I wouldn´t figure out what´s going on?" His dad sighed, shaking his head. "But you´re almost seventeen, and, well, I know how serious you pined over that Martin girl...so..."  
  
"I´m not pining over Derek."  
  
"Sure you´re not. You´re way past that," the sheriff ignored his denial, "That´s okay. I don´t mind as much as you maybe think."  
  
"You don´t?" Stiles was baffled. "You don´t even know..."  
  
"I know everything. Derek told me."  
  
"What?" Stiles shrieked. _No way. Derek didn´t, did he? Not everything?_  
  
The sheriff laughed. "No worries. He spared me the details, thank god, but showed me what is really going on. Werewolves are real." His smile turned into a grimace as if the memory was not something he wanted to hold on to. "So, I know now that he´s a big part of your life, and considering the tragedy in his past I didn´t want to be the one in the way. So..."  
  
"He´s not a bad guy, you know."  
  
"I know because you wouldn´t like him otherwise. Now run into his arms already."  
  
"Dad!" What the freaking hell? His dad was gloating. His friends were sniggering. Why, oh why, was this his life? "Holy God, I don´t even know what to say... I...."  
  
"I love you, son." The sheriff hugged him, squashing the package in the process. "That doesn´t mean we won´t go to dinner eventually."  
  
Right. "I love you, too, dad." He blinked tears from his eyes. Yeah. They were both stupidly pathetic.  
  
"Thanks. I needed that." The sheriff waved at the pack. "Keep it legal, guys." He was gone.  
  
Slightly shell-shocked Stiles inspected Derek´s so-called new home. There was almost no furniture. Not very different from the burnt down house in the woods, though the ambience was brighter and more welcoming. Two sofas, a coffee table and a comfy bed. Hey! He turned awkward like a silly kid who was figuring out for the first time how sex was done.  
  
Scott put an arm around his shoulders and showed him in. "Come on. All your friends are waiting."  
  
Stiles noticed the picture next to the shelf with the orderly line of books, oh there they are, and almost choked. Derek must have cut out the middle of his ruined shirt, namely the target, and had it framed behind glass. A unique trophy. Oh My God! "I can´t do this."  
  
"Moonshine!" Isaac quipped. "You are the hero. You beat an Alpha. You can at least talk to him."

Stiles stared at him. If even Isaac was being nice to him the world was going to end up in ruins, right? "I did nothing. Allison saved me. Remember?" _You should, idiot. You need to talk to Derek. You need to make this void inside of you go away._  
  
"We did it together," Allison disagreed. "You were more than brave having no weapon and all."  
  
"I had mountain ash. It worked just fine."  
  
"Right," Scott said. "Why didn´t you tell us about that?"  
  
"I wasn´t sure. I wanted to surprise you."  
  
"Congrats. Derek was certainly surprised. He almost ripped Kali and Elias apart for what they did to you. I still don´t know why he didn´t."  
  
Stiles did know. Derek was a predator but not a killer.  
  
Erica and Boyd were coming down the stairs. "Batman," Erica cheered. "Nice to have you back."  
  
Once more Stiles was checking Boyd´s hands. Ten fingers still.  
  
"Derek sewed it back on," Boyd gave away.  
  
"Will it work?"  
  
"Derek said yes."  
  
"It doesn´t matter." Erica seized the finger and started licking it. "I love you in every shape." She sucked the finger into her mouth.  
  
"Where´s D-Derek?" God! Why was he stuttering? What was he afraid of? Why was he feeling so much? A playful slap grazing his ass made him feel even more. _Holy fuck! What now? Whoever-_  
  
"I´m right behind you."


	9. Knot Me

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Once again the song lyrics in this part are not mine. I just borrowed them.

_Hey, there, big, bad wolf._ Stiles clutched the package to his chest. That didn´t help to keep his right leg from twitching madly. _Are your eyes blue again? Did you fall back to being a Beta? Did you? Did you? God, no. Not for me, please. Not that sacrifice. I want you to be the Alpha. My Alpha._  
  
"Stiles?" Derek´s voice cut the otherwise dead silence.  
  
Okay. He could do this. _Stop racing like frenzy, silly heart._ He could face Derek. He could face whatever the future had in store. Fiddling with the package, as if it was an anchor he turned deliberately slowly. Yet the room felt like it was spinning, changing the faces of his friends into blurry flickering colors. _Gee!_ He blew out a breath. Derek was looking gorgeous with brilliant dark hair and fiery green eyes. Ha! Seriously? What else was new? Well! The sky-blue shirt that Derek was wearing, for example, which suited him exceedingly well, and the happiness sparkling in those eyes, though he couldn´t ignore the dark circles underneath. Hadn´t the wolfman slept at all lately? Stiles swallowed. "Hi...I...uh...came by to say thanks for taking care of me." _Really? That´s what you want to call it? That´s ridiculous, even for you._  
  
"Is that so?" Derek surveyed Stiles from top to bottom, rubbing his right hand over his lips, keeping down the smirk quivering there. "Anything else you want to tell me?"  
  
_Right,..._ "...uh...yes." His own lips started tingling due to the memory of tender, wet kisses. "I brought you a gift."  
  
"Okay." Eyebrows raised Derek peered at the package in Stiles´s hands. "Hand it over."  
  
"Easy there, Alpha. Don´t get pushy." Stiles stepped closer and reached out, well aware that everyone else in the room was watching. _Damn._  
  
Derek´s fingertips were touching Stiles´s for a split second. "Am I then? Your Alpha?"  
  
_Aw. The spark. There it is._ Stiles didn´t take the bait. Derek´s hands distracted him. The delicate nails. The sinewy palms. The smooth way Derek undid the wrapping. He just couldn´t look away. He just couldn´t stop thinking about how incredible those hands made him feel just a week ago.  
  
"It´s your shirt," Derek said, voice cracking. "It belongs to you."  
  
_Thanks a lot, dad._ "Uh...I...figured it rather belongs to you all things considered."  
  
"Yeah?" Derek´s impressive eyebrows climbed even higher. "Are you sure?"  
  
"Sure I´m sure," Stiles spluttered. _Are we still talking about a shirt?_ He was itching to be alone with the Alpha and not observed like some freak in a Friday evening show. He wanted to talk the talk and walk the walk. But not in front of the pack.  
  
"I have something for you, too." Derek nodded at Peter who was just coming down the spiral stairs.  
  
_Is he living here, too?_ Surprisingly the presence of the creep didn´t bother him as much as it once did. Since Peter had helped him save Rae, he didn´t see him as utterly bad anymore. He wasn´t good, no, but he wasn´t evil either.  
  
Peter presented Stiles with a square piece of paper. For once he didn´t mock Stiles in any way.  
  
In awe he stared at a kid´s drawing. At the top the moon. At the bottom right a bear-like figure in a red hoodie roaming through the woods. On the left the shape of a girl hiding in the bushes. The simple but expressive artwork was signed _Alpha Boy and Me_ in crooked child-like letters. "That´s good." He sniffled. _Jeez!_ That girl was such a sweetheart.  
  
"Yeah. For a human so young she sees a lot," Derek agreed, putting the shirt in Peter´s hands.  
  
_Oh, Rae. What will happen to you?_ "Is it true? Did you offer to let Kali and Elias join the pack?"  
  
"I think they deserve a second chance. Kali is more an unlucky girl than a bad person. So is Elias."  
  
"Elias is an unlucky girl?" No. He couldn´t let that go. Making snarky remarks always helped him to feel more confident.  
  
Derek bestowed the softest look upon him. "Kali bit him because his life was a misery. Like Isaac´s. They all suffered a great deal. Is it a problem for you that they will be part of the pack?"  
  
"You´re the Alpha. If Peter deserves a second change they certainly do."  
  
"Oh, thanks for that," Peter interfered, stretching the shirt to the limit. Did he intend to ruin the beloved but worthless item?  
  
"Shut up," Stiles replied casually. No, he would never like Peter, but he had learned he could tolerate him.  
  
"Already abusing your position, huh?" Peter fired back, sniffing his nephew´s present.  
  
Stiles winced. Why did Derek give him the thing anyway? Was he finally sick of it? Was Derek testing Peter?  
  
Apparently not. Derek ignored his uncle. "You belong to this pack. So you have a voice."  
  
"Do I?" Stiles said, and started fidgeting. _For heaven´s sake. Stop that!_  
  
"Always," Derek said grimly. "Don´t you know that Kali only considered my offer because of what you did for Rae?"  
  
No. Stiles didn´t know that. A spike of heat surged over his cheeks as if he had done something wrong instead of right. Okay. He had to admit having the pack as a witness to Derek praising him was rather pleasant. "Um...I did nothing, really..."  
  
"You saved a life. You caused a truce that appeared impossible," Derek said with confidence. "That´s why I decided that you´ll be in charge of negotiating for the pack from now on."  
  
"Really? You trust me that much?" The heat on Stiles´s face was spreading over his neck to his shoulders. The spot on his arm started itching again. _Oh, come on!_  
  
"Of course I do. You proved that you´re more than capable."  
  
"Yeah? How exactly?" His throat was tight due to overwhelming joy.  
  
"Helping me form a pack, giving me the courage to make a move, succeeding in winning the enemy over."  
  
Stiles burnt all over now. How was this real? How could he handle being this happy? "I trust you, too," he murmured, somewhat bashful, and hoped that only Derek could hear him. Considering the room was crowded with werewolves he knew he hoped in vain.  
  
"I know. It´s you, you know - no magical object needed. You own the magic. You own me."  
  
_Oh, man._ Derek had never talked so much in such a short time. That was something he needed to get used to, as well as to the pack _smothering_ him with fondness.  
  
"Congrats, Batman. I always knew you had it in you," Erica cheered, kissing him on the cheek.  
  
"Thanks, Catwoman," he repaid the compliment with honesty. Boyd´s love had brought out qualities in Erica that had always been hidden beneath her outer shell.  
  
"Looking good, man." Boyd used his fixed hand to give him a high five. He was a down-to-earth guy. Hardly unnerved by anything. "Just don´t flirt with my woman."  
  
Stiles laughed. "Won´t happen again. Scout's honor."  
  
"Brave after all," Peter said, rapping his knuckles over Stiles´s back.  
  
He cringed. _Easy there, creep. Still not friends._  
  
"Way to go, buddy." Scott hugged him as if they hadn´t seen each other in weeks.  
  
"You, too." Stiles squeezed his shoulder. "I never knew you were such a stud."  
  
"Uh..." Scott let go of him. "I don´t know what you´re talking about."  
  
"Sure." This time he was the one gloating. Ah. Look, who´s next? The snuggle couple. Allison and Isaac. The hunter gave him a friendly peck on the cheek. _"Á la bonne heure!"_ Isaac shook his hand like some suit. _"Réel génial."_ As usual he was wearing one of his stupid scarfs.  
  
_Why even? The heat in here is almost killing me. My hands are goddam hot._ Stiles snorted. Seriously? How did Scott put up with those two? What about them talking French?  
  
Finally Lydia who embraced him like an old lost friend, kissing him heartily on the lips.  
  
_Oops!_ No. Stiles felt not a trickle of the spark he had felt every time he was kissing Derek, though he caught fire seeing the Alpha scowl at him. Okay. His crush on Lydia was officially over. That was a good thing, right?  
  
The whole pack started clapping. "Hurrah for Stiles!"  
  
"Stop that right now," Stiles said, squinching up his face. Enough was enough. He didn´t know how to behave naturally anymore, least of all in front of a man with whom he had spent the night _bare ass_ naked.  
  
"Yes, don´t speak too highly of him. I should give him a spanking for what he pulled off," Derek said, breaking into a smile that revealed his teeth.  
  
"You wouldn´t dare!" The smile blew Stiles away. _Is this really happening? Am I dreaming? Am I losing my mind?_  
  
"Wouldn´t I?" Derek crossed his arms over his chest. "Mm. I should, though, for going alone and putting yourself in danger. None of the pack is allowed to do such a thing."  
  
"You´re serious," Stiles realized, scratching at the spot on his arm. _Damn it! Stop itching._  
  
"Sure I am, Alpha boy," Derek said, smiling wickedly. For a few seconds he kept his posture but then he turned to Peter and fetched the infamous shirt back from him. He smoothed it out. "Do you like my new home?"  
  
"Um...yeah...sure, a bit Spartan maybe..." Stiles was startled. The sudden change of subject was irritating. He didn´t want to talk about boring furniture. He wanted to talk about-  
  
"It´s the initial phase. I´ll make it personal, or maybe someone else is eager to contribute _his_ personal touch."  
  
His! _Holy fuck!_ As if! Derek never did boring conversations. Stiles was getting a boner. _Oh God! I can´t even...._ "Can I have something to drink? How about some music? Is this a party or not?" He started fidgeting again.  
  
"Right." Derek winked at him. " _Our_ house, _our_ party."  
  
_What the hell?_ Stiles shunned Derek and grabbed Scott instead, dragging him to the other side of the room. He needed some space. Just for now. Just to calm his nerves.  
  
As if he had given a signal, the whole pack scattered off in different directions. Isaac and Allison put some music on. Peter handed out none-alcoholic cocktails, leering at Lydia. No. Lydia didn´t smile back but she shook her head in amusement, giving her hair a backflip. Mm. Maybe Peter wasn´t that delusional about her returning his affection. Well. Whatever. None of his business. Boyd and Erica were smooching each other on the dance floor. No. The sight put off neither his nerves nor his boner. _fuckfuckfuck_  
  
"How are you?" Scott said, leaning close. "Still mad?"  
  
"I´m not mad, just confused." _Also, damn hot!_ Getting rid of his hoodie he threw it on the sofa.  
  
"Yeah, well, I know what you mean. Sometimes life is not at all predictable."  
  
"I agree." Stiles peeked at Derek strutting up the spiral stairs. _God, that ass!_ "Let´s get a drink. I´m dying of thirst."  
  
"Those cocktails are ill-suited for getting wasted," Scott reminded him.  
  
"I don´t plan to get wasted," Stiles said. _Well, not like this._  
  
For the next couple of hours they celebrated. Though Stiles was not able to eat or drink a lot, he laughed frequently. He even dared to ask Lydia for a dance. Okay. That was easier than asking Derek. _Duh!_  
  
"Are you happy?" Lydia whispered into his ear.  
  
"Yeah. Sure. Pretty much," he replied, surprised that he most definitely was. The sight of Allison, Isaac and Scott dancing together as if they were meant to be was less surprising. Yes, he was happy, still he couldn´t stop looking at the clock. He was hurting to be alone with Derek. "How about you? What´s going on? I know there´s something."  
  
"Oh, Stiles." She sighed and put her head on his chest. "I wasn´t honest with you. There is something I need to tell you."  
  
_Oh, crap! What now?_ "You can tell me anything."  
  
"I saw disturbing things, you know. At first I thought I was going crazy." Right that second the music stopped and she silenced.  
  
_Damn._ Stiles kept leading her, holding his breath. _Come on, Isaac. Play something. Play anything._ Finally the first beats of the next song echoed through the roomy loft.  
  
_We get it on most every night  
And when that moon is big and bright  
It's a supernatural delight  
Everybody's dancing in the moonlight  
  
_

Of all things. Stiles rolled his eyes.  
  
_Dancing in the moonlight  
Everybody's feeling warm and bright  
It's such a fine and natural sight  
Everybody's dancing in the moonlight..._  
  
Lydia on the other hand lightened up, and impressed him by floating over the floor like a fairy. "Since Jackson left I feel different. At the time Kali arrived I started having visions about people dying. People I knew. That´s why I screamed. I knew about Samual before it happened. I knew he was doomed. I didn´t know how, though."  
  
"Uh...that´s...uh...awful." _Holy Shit! Does Derek know? Does the pack know?_ "Why didn´t you tell me? I could have helped."  
  
"Sorry. I was too scared to tell anybody. My grandma had been in a mental institution before she died. That´s why I couldn´t talk about it. I had a hard time dealing with it. Peter figured out what´s going on by himself. He helped me. He trained me to focus on the important things. He taught me to handle the visions better."  
  
_Okay, Peter. That´s two for you._ "So?" he croaked. "Have you seen anybody else dying in your visions lately?"  
  
"No. Nobody I know. I´m still puzzled that me screaming did not affect the wolves in our pack. The wolves should have been, you know, considering their sensitive hearing."  
  
"Eh...I was definitely affected. Does that mean I´m not part of the pack?" He wriggled his eyebrows.  
  
" _Human_ idiot." She slapped the side of his head. "I don´t know why I care about you."  
  
"You do?" He stroked her hair behind her ear. "That´s cool." _Banshee. She´s a banshee. God, I´m surrounded by supernatural creatures. What´s next, huh? The Abominable Snowman?_  
  
"It is, isn´t it?" She jerked her head at Derek lolling on the sofa.  
  
"Shut up," he shushed her, whirling her around. _Jeez! Does everybody know? Am I that obvious?_  
  
No scream slipped past her lips but a pearly, satisfied laugh. "That´s what I figured." She finished their dance and spun along to Peter. The Beta welcomed her, unusually bubbly.  
  
_Ugh!_ Quickly Stiles turned his attention to Derek. The Alpha´s eyes were closed, his legs stretched out. His right hand was busy playing with Stiles´s red hoodie.  
  
_Is he asleep? Is he dreaming? Is he thinking about me?_ He had to look away, catching his breath. _Aaah._ He was feeling so hyper he could barely get a hold of himself. He was very much aware of what Derek had been doing in the last hours.  
  
A few times he strutted up the spiral stairs and back down again. Stiles had no clue what he was doing up there, though he had some ideas. Apart from that Derek actually talked. _Gosh!_ On and off he even laughed. _No way._ He poured drinks for everyone and danced with Allison and Lydia. He showed Scott his books and might be trying to turn him into a good student after all. He practiced shifting with Isaac who almost strangled himself with his scarf. _Ha! That serves you right._ He stared at the framed target shirt, brooding, frozen to one spot. Finally he picked the red hoodie off the sofa and buried his nose in the thing.  
  
_Holy God! Did he sniff it? What did my scent tell him?_ Stiles gulped. Fuck! He was very much aware of Derek period. Why for god´s sake does Derek wear such tight pants? What is he waiting for, huh? Why can´t he make a move? Hey. Why don´t _you_ ask Derek for a dance or just talk to him as normal people do? Why? He couldn´t think straight because he was so horny he was in pain. Yeah. He couldn´t take this any longer. Oh, please. Come on. I _need_ you. I need _you_ like right now.  
  
Derek tore his eyes open and turned his head sharply as if he had gotten a whiff of his desperation. At that he nibbled on his lip which made him look much younger and kind of vulnerable. The other side of the Alpha. Soft. Kind. Teasing.  
  
_I´ll make you say my name again. Many times. That´s a promise...._ Crap! He almost got off due to the incredible memory. Okay. That´s it. Seriously. He had to get out of here. Right now. He strolled to the door, minding every werewolf for obvious reasons. He almost made it but then there was Peter, blocking the way out.  
  
"Come on, folks, all of us should go somewhere else now," Peter announced, looking insufferably smug. "Erica and Boyd, you can stay at Lydia´s for one night and Isaac I assume is not at all against the prospect of sleeping elsewhere. Let´s give these two some space."  
  
The pack obliged, sniggering shamelessly. Peter escorted them out like a fucking gentleman butler.  
  
Lydia´s place, huh? She and Peter were damn cozy, weren´t they? So what? Somehow he didn´t care anymore. Lydia was strong enough to handle Peter. What about himself? Could he handle a werewolf? Could he handle living with him? Could he handle losing him? _Perhaps. Perhaps not._ Still unsure he continued moving towards the door.  
  
"No. _Not_ you," Derek said, eyes still glowing in the same rich and brilliant green.  
  
"I told you, you can´t run," Isaac said, and closed the door.  
  
Derek was cocking his ears, making sure that the pack was really gone. Seconds later his posture changed; he appeared less stressed but more like the Derek who had licked him whole. The wolf who could sniff out what he was up to anytime. He dug the vial from the hoodie. "Wolf´s Bane? Really?"  
  
Stiles shrugged. "Deaton wants me to get used to it."  
  
"He´s a clever man," Derek granted the past advisor of his parents, and put the vial back. "So?"  
  
"What?" he snapped to conceal his fresh arousal. Yeah. Stupid, considering Derek´s skills.  
  
Derek folded the hoodie and put it on the table. "We need to talk."  
  
"Yeah, so?" Stiles squared his shoulders. "Talk."  
  
"Why did you run into the woods all by yourself at a full moon?"  
  
_Oh, shit. That! He thought they could skip that._ His heart jumped to his throat. "Uh...there was my shirt in your bed..." He shuffled his feet, making a creaky sound on the polished floor.  
  
"So?" Derek huffed.  
  
"I thought, maybe, because you kept it all this time, you like me...uh..."  
  
" _Like_ you?" Derek snorted. "Okay. Fine. Why ever did you run away then?" His face struggled with a gamut of emotions, turning his voice into a harsh, grating noise. "I meant what I said. You don´t need a stuffed wolf. You own the real thing."  
  
Seeing Derek Hale losing his shit gave him the push he needed. "Oh my God!" He flailed his arms. "Maybe I´m overwhelmed. Big, bad Alpha wolf and me."  
  
"Is that so?" Derek coughed, rubbing his chin. "Well, in that case what can I do to make you feel more at ease?"  
  
"Y-You really mean that?" Stiles hiccupped. _God. Don´t do this. Don´t even..._  
  
"Sure. What is it? Me changed into a wolf ravishing you? Me chained up to a wall? Or rather on my knees begging?" Derek put his hands behind his back standing tall, though the tips of his ears turned quite red. "Tell me and it´s done."  
  
That Derek trusted him that much did a lot to Stiles´s boner. "Uh...not like that...no... _ohgodohgodohgod_ "...I want you...me...." His voice died down.  
  
"What was that?" Derek cawed.  
  
His face was on fire but he raised his chin. The times of missed chances were over. "You and me against the wall." Crazy, right? Actually naughty.  
  
"Fine," Derek said, sounding wrecked. "Only one thing I need to do on top of that." Seconds later he shoved Stiles against the wall, slapping the curve of his ass. _SMACK_ "That´s for running."  
  
"Ah..." Stiles burst out laughing.  
  
"What?" Derek pinned his hands over his head, breathing hotly on him.  
  
_Oh my gosh, you smell like the woods, fresh, lush and mysterious._ "This. Us. I can´t even begin...oh..." _...oh holy god..._ His body went rigid with need, so much need to come already. "...please..."  
  
Derek cut him off by kissing him. A scratchy, lingering kiss roughening up his cheeks and lips. A kiss to die for.  
  
Squirming in the playful yet relentless grip, Stiles got harder still. "I like that. You claiming me."  
  
The wolf exhaled some strangled growl, and then he grabbed Stiles´s ass, lifting him up.  
  
_Yes, oh god, yes._ In the next second he felt his shirt gone and Derek burning a trail of hot, wet kisses down his shoulder. _...ah...Derek...man..._ Dizzy from desire he found his way underneath Derek´s shirt, raking his nails over the wolf´s back, gently though, bearing recent damage in mind.  
  
"I´m good. I´m healed," Derek murmured, surging closer. "Touch me." Nuzzling his mouth against the spot on Stiles´s arm, he licked a circle around the edged wound. "That´s for being ridiculously brave."  
  
"Oh...well...so were you..." He was rubbing off against Derek´s muscled thigh, a heavenly fierce sensation. _hothothot_ "...now show me...show me you´re the Alpha..."  
  
"You like that?" Derek stopped and gazed at him, tongue running over his lower lip.  
  
"Yeah," he squeaked, rolling his hips forward, making Derek gasp and, there went the Alpha red eyes like flames in the dark. A glorious crimson. "That´s for making me feel so much."  
  
_Okay. Good. Perfect even._ "Um...what are you saying?" _He was close...close...oh fuck...._  
  
"That I want you to be mine." Derek continued mouthing the nonexistent wound on Stiles´s arm like this was the most desirable thing to do. "I thought I made that clear."  
  
"By licking me?" He was riding Derek´s leg like a maniac. _Oh, hell. Get those damn pants off. Do something before...._  
  
"You didn´t mind that night."  
  
"I didn´t...aw..." He gasped, almost squirting off. _Hey, there, little red riding hood...._ "I definitely like it."  
  
"Good," Derek hummed. "It´s the usual way for a wolf to speed up the healing process." He beat his tongue upwards again, along the shoulder to the neck till he stopped behind Stiles´s ear, sucking intimately on the delicate spot. "What about you, huh? Didn´t you leave your drool on my pillow?"  
  
"Derek..." Fisting his hands in Derek´s shirt, Stiles bucked his hips. "Oh - _Oh fuck_."  
  
"Do you like that, Alpha boy?"  
  
"D-Do I...? Are you kidding? Oh god...don´t...ah..." The werewolf´s hot and moist tongue licking into the shell of his ear was too much. His lips parted and he groaned, a desperate and sluttish sound, and his hips rose again and crashed down on Derek. Holy God! He was into this. Totally into this.  
  
"I thought you hated me."  
  
"I do."  
  
"Yeah, right," Derek murmured, licking over the rim of Stiles´s ear.  
  
Shaking all over Stiles almost came apart. "D-Derek..." The next kiss was too intense to keep up pretending. "Alright, fine, I don´t hate you."  
  
"Good," Derek was growling with pleasure.  
  
That he could do that was awesome. _Duh!_ Derek Hale was the most awesome guy...oh...who was now nipping at his neck. Okay. He was done. A grumpy Derek he was able to resist, but not this new and improved cuddly wolf with bright green eyes and the spiciest tongue. "I never hated you." He seized the werewolf´s neck and pulled him closer, kissing him back messily. "I just...uh..." He pursed his lips.  
  
"I think I got that," Derek purred, claiming the pouty curve, using a bit of teeth.  
  
"More," Stiles pleaded, remembering every little thing.  
  
"Tease." Derek kissed him hungrily.  
  
No. Not teasing. I want you. I want you. Hell, do I want you. Want. Now. He pulled Derek´s shirt over his head, almost tearing it apart. The sight of the wolf´s broad chest made him lick his lips. _Mm._  
  
Derek grinned and steadied the squirming boy with a resolute hand, pushing him up the wall.  
  
_Oh yeah. Touch me. Take me._ Stiles was leaking wet. _Come on. Come on. Now. Now._  
  
"You scared the hell out of me. Never ever do that again," Derek rasped roughly.  
  
"O-kay."  
  
"It´s fine. At least we´re done playing games." He licked a stripe along Stiles´s jawline, sucking at every mole. "Why didn´t you tell me, huh?"  
  
"Well...how could I know that you want me...the human...idiot..."  
  
Derek nibbled once more at Stiles´s ear. "That´s how I told you..."  
  
"I thought you were making a point to...to the pack...some sort of power play to keep me in line."  
  
"No." He unbuckled Stiles´s pants.  
  
_Oh god. Don´t come. Not yet._ Stiles pressed a hand to his mouth to stifle his moans.  
  
"Don´t." Finger by finger Derek pulled the hand away. "Never hide from me." He sucked two fingers into his mouth, and growled the dirtiest growl. "I´ve wanted to do this since you pimped me out to Danny."  
  
"Yeah? Why did you make me wait so long then?" Stiles snapped, complaint changing into an open-mouthed groan.  
  
A wolfish grin graced Derek´s handsome face. He let go of the fingers _plop_. "I forced myself to stay away from you all summer. However, with the arrival of Kali´s pack and the nonstop contact I couldn´t hold myself back from touching you anymore, marking you..." He pulled Stiles´s zipper down... "...stuffing your cheeky mouth..." ...and yanked the pants to his ankles. "...and now...I´ll keep my promise."  
  
"Oh...oh god..." Stiles pushed his hips forward, beating his red and eager hard-on against Derek´s tasty six-pack. _Aaah. Hurry up. I´m about to...._  
  
A shadow of doubt flitted over Derek´s face. "You want me to go on...right?"  
  
"God, yes," Stiles whined, now that his cock was ready to burst. "I´ve wanted you...since...since..."  
  
"Yeah?" Dominant Derek shoved him into the wall and pinched one of his perky nipples. "Since when?"  
  
_Oh god, Derek. Please. Please._ "I´ll never tell," he said, still relishing in defying the wolf. _Hey. My ass is in the air and my crotch is in-_  
  
"You will." Rough fingertips scraped over sensitive balls. "I´ll make you tell."  
  
"Oh my God..." Stiles shouldn´t be turned on by this but he was. He really, really was. "Derek! Come on!"  
  
"Bossy." Derek smirked.  
  
"I´m Alpha Boy." He pushed back against Derek, hard, digging his heels into the wolf´s back.  
  
Taken by surprise Derek lost his balance. Together they crashed to the floor in a messy heap of flesh and skin. They laughed in sync.  
  
"Smartass," Derek scolded softly, not stopping his advances.  
  
"Sourwolf." Oh! His tease was literally blown off. "Uh...oh my god, Derek...I...uh...oh my GOD!"  
  
Derek couldn´t reply due to having his mouth full, tasting Stiles. "Mm-mm."  
  
"Ah, yes, take me, bite me," Stiles cheered him on as a white blinding light hit him. "Eat me up."  
  
Derek grunted around him, doing just that.  
  
"Yes. Fuck, yes." God! Such colors! Holy smoke! There! Right there! Magic!  
  
_Blue moon, now I'm no longer alone..._ His favorite ringtone woke him up hours later. He yawned and wrestled his way out of Derek´s embrace.  
  
The wolf snarled and scratched his crotch.  
  
_Feeling itchy?_ Stiles couldn´t take his eyes off him. "Hello?"  
  
"Are you...uh...okay?" Scott murmured in a husky voice.  
  
He needed to touch. He needed to... "Sure. Never better." A spark pierced his heart. _Hey. Deaton was right. I´m ready._  
  
"How is...um...Derek?"  
  
"Exhausted," he said smugly, keeping his hand busy along the way.  
  
"Eeew! Don´t ever tell me."  
  
"Oh yeah? How are Allison and Isaac? How´s a threesome?"  
  
"...."  
  
"Dead silence. Beautiful." Stiles sniggered. _Oh, look. My efforts paid off._ "Okay. Let´s make a deal. You´ll never tell me about yours and I´ll never tell you about mine; how it feels to fuck an Alpha..."  
  
"Stiles!" Derek roared.  
  
"Sorry, have to go, the big, bad wolf just awakened." _Duh! I was poking him plenty._ He grinned at his Alpha. "What´s _up_?"  
  
The connection was broken. Scott switched his phone off and grinned at Allison. "I never saw that coming."  
  
"Really? With all those werewolf senses?" She pursed her lips. "I knew long ago. Lydia, too."  
  
"Me, too," Isaac murmured, rolling off her to scent Scott´s neck.  
  
"Good for you tw _ooo_!" Scott howled, because Allison was going down on him at the same time.  
  
Derek did make Stiles tell. Not that Stiles put up much of a fight. In return Derek told Stiles about Paige. Why he had blue eyes. Grateful Stiles entrusted Derek with his real name. No. Derek didn´t have a laughing fit that lasted for at least two minutes.  
  
So. Awesome fall. The best ever even.  
  
Over the years Derek´s pack turned into the most powerful pack in California. That could have been due to its Emissary, who had the reputation of being awesome and unique. No wonder, though he was a human he was also the Alpha´s mate.  
  
If Deaton was surprised by how things panned out, he didn´t show such an emotion to anyone. He remained as mysterious as he ever was.  
  
No. Peter and Lydia didn´t get together, at least nobody could say so for sure. The fact was that neither she nor he got involved with anybody else - ever.  
  
Scott, Allison and Isaac were as happy as three people could be. So were Kali, Elias and Rae. The Beta couple even got married a few years later. Stiles was the best man. No. Derek wasn´t the flower girl. That was only a rumor passed on by Jackson.  
  
The sheriff learned the hard way what it meant for his son to be with a werewolf due to catching partly wolfed out Derek spanking Stiles bent over the kitchen table. Well. There were stranger things happening in Beacon Hills.  
  
Magic things.  
  
_I trust you. You trust me.  
That´s how we survive._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry for writing such a fluffy ending but I needed that after they had broken my heart by taking Derek and Sterek out of the show. I need them together. You know what? I'm not sorry.


End file.
